Director, Orion Chief Engineer, Lockheed Martin Space
B.S. ASE 1988, The University of Texas at Austin
MBA, The University of Houston - Clear Lake
Carolyn Overmyer is the chief engineer of the Orion Program for Lockheed Martin Space. The Orion spacecraft is built to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. On Artemis missions, Orion will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. She is responsible for the technical integrity and certification of the spacecraft through design, development, test, assembly and throughout the on-orbit mission.
She received her B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and her MBA from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. Overmyer’s professional career began at the McDonnell Douglas in Houston, Texas as part of the Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) subsystem design team on Space Station Freedom which evolved into a close working relationship with the Russian EVA team when the program became the International Space Station. Through negotiation and diligence, she ensured a safe environment for both the Russians in Orion Space suits and the US crew in EMUs to perform difficult assembly operations on all areas of the Space Station.
Overmyer has over 30 years of experience in program management, business development, systems engineering, spacecraft design and hardware development for human-rated space-based systems. She has led multiple international projects including the Orion Service Module, Russian module integration on the International Space Station and the development of the SPACEHAB Universal Communication System. She has also worked on GPS IIF, commercial space payloads, inflatable systems, STS Operations and Intelligence systems.
She is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and received the AIAA Rocky Mountain Section Engineer of the Year Award in 2017. She is currently the Rocky Mountain Section Honors and Awards chair. Overmyer was awarded the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) Stellar Mid-Career Award and a Silver Snoopy Award for the Orion European Service Module Integration Leadership. She has a passion for mentoring and coaching the next generation of engineers and is involved in may STEM outreach activities.
Overmyer currently resides in Parker, Colorado with her husband of 30 years and their dog Rocket. She has two grown sons both working in the aerospace and computing industry. She enjoys downhill skiing, hiking, tennis and pickleball in her spare time.
