Adrian Pfeifle
About Adrian Pfeifle
Adrian Pfeifle is a Senior GNC Engineer at Rocket Lab, where he has worked since 2018. He has a background in aerospace engineering and has held various positions in notable companies including Bosch, DLR, and Porsche.
Current Position at Rocket Lab
Adrian Pfeifle serves as a Senior GNC Engineer at Rocket Lab since 2018. In this role, he conducts trajectory optimization to support trade studies aimed at overall vehicle optimization. His responsibilities include assisting with the management and prediction of future performance for Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle. He also analyzes the effects of customer requirements on payload capability and other performance areas for Rocket Lab's missions. Additionally, he is involved in the analysis of optimized 3DOF trajectories for implementation in 6DOF and flight scenarios.
Previous Experience in Aerospace Engineering
Adrian Pfeifle has a diverse background in aerospace engineering. He worked at Bosch as a Working Student from 2011 to 2012 and again from 2013 to 2014, totaling 15 months in Schwieberdingen. He served as a Trajectory Design Engineer at Astos Solutions GmbH from 2015 to 2016 for 10 months in Stuttgart, Germany. His experience also includes a position as a Master Thesis Student at DLR from 2014 to 2015 for 6 months in Lampoldshausen, and a role as a Scientific Student Research Paper contributor at DLR from 2013 to 2014 for 6 months.
Education and Academic Background
Adrian Pfeifle studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Stuttgart, where he achieved a Diplom-Ingenieur (Dipl.Ing.) from 2008 to 2015. He also pursued studies at Caltech, further enhancing his academic credentials in the field of aerospace engineering.
Internships and Early Career
Adrian Pfeifle began his career with internships that provided foundational experience in the aerospace sector. He worked at Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG as an intern from 2010 to 2011 for 6 months in Weissach. He also held a position as a Working Student at Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG for 3 months in 2011. His early career included a role as a German National Trainee at ESA/ESTEC from 2016 to 2018 for 2 years in Noordwijk, Netherlands.