Roy Thompson

Mission Execution Director

Roy Thompson is the Mission Execution Director for NAS, overseeing the Aeropropulsion, Flight, Space and Missile, Tunnel 9, and National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex Branches for the Test Operations and Sustainment contract at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC).

Roy joined AEDC in 1989 as a Facility Analysis Engineer and then transferred to the Marshall Space Flight contract in 1990 supporting the International Space Station. Roy returned to AEDC in 1994 as a Turbine Test Engineer conducting gas turbine testing at the Sea Level Test Facility. From 2010 to 2013, Roy supported Capital Project Investments first as a Project Manager and then as a Section Manager over Flight projects. Roy was promoted to Deputy Branch Manager over Flight Plants in 2013 until returning to Turbine Test Operations as Branch Manager in 2014. In 2016, Roy was the Deputy Branch Manager for Aeropropulsion before taking over as the Branch Manager in 2017 where he was responsible for the operation and sustainment of six wind tunnel facilities with ground-test capabilities from subsonic to Mach 10.

Roy has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. He is also a Six Sigma Black Belt, Project Management Professional, and Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional.