Team

Carl Dietrich
Co-Founder, President / Chief Designer

Prior to founding Jump Aero, Carl led the flying car company Terrafugia from founding through acquisition by the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. He served Terrafugia as CEO, CTO, and as a board director for 13 years. He is the current Chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association committee on Simplified Vehicle Operations.

He is the inventor or co-inventor on multiple issued patents and patents pending, and he has won numerous awards through his career including Aviation Week and Space Technology’s 40 under 40 award and the Lemelson-MIT student prize. Carl received his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.

Jeff Myjak
Co-Founder, Head of Fabrication

Jeff is the President of Still Water Design, Inc., a company that manufactures approximately one hundred high performance composite boats per year. These boats are used extensively by rowing coaches and have served as camera platforms for many international rowing competitions including the Olympic Games.

Jeff has has traveled to support and gather feedback from customers across the globe. He has decades of hands-on experience with all types of composite production and has advised many companies regarding the design of cost-effective composite production. He has developed techniques with CNC equipment to facilitate rapid fabrication of both prototype and production composite tooling. Jeff received a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and master's degree in Transportation Science from MIT.

Katerina Barilov
Co-Founder, COO

Katerina has extensive experience in aviation, structured asset-backed finance, and corporate strategy. Most recently, she was the Managing Director at Shearwater Aero Capital, LLP, a private specialty finance company. Prior to Shearwater, Ms. Barilov was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs' Industrials Group in New York, focused on assisting top tier aviation, aerospace and defense clients.

Prior to Goldman Sachs, Ms. Barilov ran the Structured Finance division for Europe Middle East and Africa at Hawker Beechcraft, a leading aerospace manufacturer based out of Wichita, Kansas. In her role, Ms. Barilov sourced transactions, developed and maintained a network of 200+ financiers, and structured and arranged complex transactions, liaising between lawyers, insurers, bankers and clients, overseeing due diligence, documentation, and credit processes. She holds an MBA and Bachelors degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. She is an avid pilot with a passion for aerobatic competition with experience in a Pitts S2C. She spends her free time focused on adventure flying in her modified Piper Colt, exploring the desert on 4x4 trails, mountain biking and trail running.

Brian Lozano
Chief Technology Officer

In his daily work as an aircraft designer, Brian carries out sizing calculations, physical modeling, and system integration to ensure that the life-saving aircraft Jump Aero produces are world-class.

Brian aims to be the best designer he can be, and in pursuit of this he understands he stands on the shoulders of giants, learning from their great successes and mistakes. He believes that every challenge is an opportunity to learn, and to find the truth which will lead to a better design. Brian holds a Master's Degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, and a Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. He has co-authored patents and research papers in the field of aircraft design. Brian considers his present work at Jump Aero to contain his highest achievements thus far. Outside of work, Brian enjoys flying, sailing, hiking, visiting cathedrals, and exploring new places.

Eli D'Elia
Director of Prototype Engineering

With origins as a talented special effects artist in feature films, Eli found a conduit for his intrigue with robotics, electronics, and engineering. Coupled with his passion for aerospace, he emerged as an entrepreneur and pioneer in the multi-rotor drone sphere, creating one of the earliest ruggedized monocoque multi-copters for the mass hobbyist market.

Eli's knack for inventive problem-solving guided him into sUAS R&D consulting, subsequently leading him to Terrafugia as their dedicated prototype engineer. His prowess in eVTOLs paved the way for an eminent role as an sUAS developer for a prominent DOD contractor. Seizing an opportunity extended by Carl Dietrich to become a part of Jump Aero, Eli continues to carve out his innovative path in aerospace advancement.

Jesse Kaltenbach
Senior Research and Development Engineer

Born in France, and educated in the US. Being Fascinated and passionate about aviation and machining and fabrication from a young age this directed my path to be a General Aviation Pilot, Hang Glider pilot, sky diver, Part 107 certified UAV pilot that developed a career specializing in aerial imaging, mechanical design, and fabrication of aerial imaging equipment

Reed Butterfield
Design Engineer

Reed started at Jump Aero in 2021 as an intern helping make wire harnesses. In this time Reed was given the opportunity to grow his skill set in many different areas. In January of 2022 he joined the company full time.

Reed is instrumental in developing and maintaining various CAD models for the company, as well as overseeing the manufacturing of various parts for the aircraft. The work he gets to do is always varied and exciting, and always has something new to figure out. He loves working in an environment that consistently brings on new challenges to overcome.

Hoang Do (Alex)
Flight Control Engineer

Hoang Do is a Flight Control Engineer at Jump Aero, specializing in aircraft dynamics, aerodynamics, electrical motor systems, system identification, and flight simulation.

With broad theoretical knowledge and practical experience, he has been focusing on designing, testing, and optimizing the GN&C system, electronics, and embedded systems for various vehicles at Jump Aero. He held a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, which provided him with a solid foundation in his field. With a focus on excellence, Hoang's expertise ensures the best performance of the Jump Aero emergency eVTOL vehicle in order to fulfill the mission of saving people’s lives.

George Estrada
Senior Software Engineer

George is a U.S. Air Force Veteran and a Software Developer at Jump Aero. He received his bachelor’s in Computer Science from San Francisco State University.

While in the Air Force, he trained as a Satellite Wideband and Telemetry Systems Journeyman. He deployed and maintained communication equipment for New Horizons humanitarian aid around the town of Timerhri, Guyana. In addition, he helped deploy critical communication equipment supporting Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Finally, he became an instructor for Combat Readiness and trained active duty and air reserve personnel on convoy procedures and air base ground defense.

Jeremy Bardell
Senior Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineer

With a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Illinois (UIUC), Jeremy has over 20 years of Mechanical and Manufacturing engineering experience in the Aerospace, CNC machining, and Metrology fields. He brings with him extensive connections in the manufacturing world as well as a strong background in design for manufacturability (DFM), metrology, GD&T, ISO accreditation, FAA certification, and project and people management.

His entrepreneurial spirit had him start three small businesses during the pandemic including a mobile bicycle repair business, a drone videography business, and a website development business. Father to two teenagers, he still finds time to race mountain bikes competitively, scuba dive, take his BMW adventure bike to remote camping locations in the mountains, and drive his 1931 Ford Model A woodie station wagon on short tours.

Nico Bernt
Mechatronics Engineer

Nico is a diversified engineer with intertwined passions for aircraft, vehicle electrification, systems architecture, and IoT. As a mechatronics engineer at Jump Aero, Nico taps into these passions and applies his experience to deliver cutting-edge systems and components in both physical and digital capacities.

Since his first cockpit experience as an EAA Young Eagle overflying the SF Bay Area in homebuilt aircraft, Nico has long dreamt of designing and flying novel aircraft. Thanks to a BSME/EE from the University of Nevada, Reno, a Masters in IoT Innovation Management from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, France, and work experiences ranging from network mapping at Cisco to agriculture electrification, this dream became reality when Nico joined Jump Aero in 2024. Whatever the system in focus, Nico meets requirements and deadlines by applying meaningful effort and rigor to understand and overcome engineering problems.