As the Vice President of Falcon Launch Vehicles, Jon Edwards leads a team of over 100 engineers in the development and operation of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. In this role Jon is responsible for all Falcon related development projects as well as the cost, reliability and performance of the vehicle during all phases of its life cycle. Jon routinely briefs President Gwynne Shotwell and CEO/CTO Elon Musk on the day-to-day challenges and direction of the Falcon 9 program. Jon also works closely with SpaceX’s commercial and government customers including the United States Space Force and NASA. Jon has been with SpaceX since early 2004 after graduating with his B.S. and M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University. Jon started his SpaceX career as the lead engineer for the Kestrel rocket engine and responsible engineer for the Falcon 1 upper stage. Soon after Falcon 1 successfully made orbit, Jon transitioned to Falcon 9 as the responsible engineer for the F9 2nd Stage. Over the next 10 years Jon played a key role in developing increasingly advanced versions of the Falcon 9 including v1.1, Full Thrust, and Block 5 – the most advanced and rapidly reusable heavy lift launch vehicle in history. In April 2017 Jon was the recipient of Purdue’s Outstanding Aerospace Engineer award. The Outstanding Aerospace Engineer award is the Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering School's highest honor to recognize its most distinguished alumni.