# Jacob Rodriguez

> Jacob Rodriguez is the founder and CEO of Oligo Space, a Hawthorne, California aerospace startup automating the design and manufacturing of large multi-orbit satellites. A first-generation college student who won a full scholarship to MIT and interned at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he left school early as a 2024 Thiel Fellow to build a manufacturing-in-the-loop foundation model for spacecraft production. Oligo plans to fly its first satellite, Chimera-1, on SpaceX's Transporter-15 mission in 2026.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Oligo Space
- **Organizations:** Oligo Space, Thiel Fellowship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- **From:** California, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Astronautical / Aerospace Engineering, concentration in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (full scholarship; left early for Thiel Fellowship), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Founder and CEO of Oligo Space, a venture-backed aerospace startup, Selected as a 2024 Thiel Fellow, Full scholarship to MIT as a first-generation college student

## Career timeline

- **2012** — As an elementary school student, watches the Space Shuttle Endeavour fly over Los Angeles on its final ferry flight to the California Science Center.
- **2020** — Begins studying aerospace engineering at MIT on a full scholarship as a first-generation college student.
- **2022** — Serves as deputy team lead on MIT AeroAstro's WORMS (Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System) project.
- **2023** — Interns at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; works on projects ranging from nuclear propulsion to robotics.
- **2024** — Named to the 2024 class of Thiel Fellows; leaves MIT early to build his company.
- **2024** — Founds Oligo Space in Hawthorne, California.
- **2026** — Oligo prepares to launch its first spacecraft, Chimera-1, aboard SpaceX's Transporter-15 mission.

## Achievements

- Founder and CEO of Oligo Space, a venture-backed aerospace startup
- Selected as a 2024 Thiel Fellow
- Full scholarship to MIT as a first-generation college student
- Internship at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Deputy team lead on MIT's WORMS reconfigurable-robot project, showcased at Amazon's MARS conference
- Building Oligo's first spacecraft, Chimera-1, slated for a 2026 SpaceX rideshare launch

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Oligo Space at seed stage with roughly $100K in disclosed funding and around 18 employees in Hawthorne, California.
- **2026-01** — Preparing to launch its first spacecraft, Chimera-1, aboard SpaceX's Transporter-15 mission in 2026.

## Links

- Website: https://oligo.space
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jrod2024

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jacob-rodriguez
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24