# John A. Nieves Stewart

> John A. Nieves Stewart is a Los Angeles-based nondestructive-testing engineer, Navy veteran, and founder of the American Aerospace Technical Academy. After technical roles at Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic, he built a tuition-free training pathway for veterans, women, and people from underserved communities, while continuing to work on inspection systems for space and defense manufacturing. He is now identified publicly with Hadrian as a Founding NDT Engineering Leader and argues that the next era of inspection must preserve hard-won human judgment by encoding it into automated factory systems.

- **Role:** Founding NDT Engineering Leader at Hadrian Automation
- **Organizations:** Hadrian, American Aerospace Technical Academy, Vast Space, Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Applied Aerospace Structures Corporation, United States Navy
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Aeronautics training; honor graduate, Spartan College of Aeronautics, Infrared thermography training, The Snell Group
- **Known for:** Founded the nonprofit American Aerospace Technical Academy in 2015., Built a tuition-free 12-week NDT training route for veterans, women, minorities, and people from underserved communities., Helped secure a $1 million California Apprenticeship Initiative grant with Cal State Los Angeles and LAUSD DACE Apprenticeship in 2016.

## Career timeline

- **U.S. Navy service** — Served as a Navy Seabee attached to Amphibious Construction Battalion 2.
- **1999-2002** — Worked as an NDT technician at Applied Aerospace Structures Corporation.
- **2006-2010** — Worked as a senior NDT engineer at Northrop Grumman.
- **2010-2015** — Managed nondestructive evaluation and radiation safety at SpaceX.
- **2015** — Founded the American Aerospace Technical Academy and left a secure industry role to focus on training veterans and economically disadvantaged Californians.
- **2015-2017** — Served as Responsible Level 3 at Virgin Galactic.
- **2016** — AATA, Cal State Los Angeles, and LAUSD DACE Apprenticeship received a $1 million California Apprenticeship Initiative grant for NDT training.
- **2017** — Delivered the plenary lecture at the ASNT Fall Conference in Nashville on the NDT equipment market.
- **2018** — AATA ran its first all-women NDT cohort.
- **2021** — AATA received a $500,000 California award to expand NDT training for veterans.
- **2023** — Received ASNT's Advancement of Active Military and Veterans in NDT Recognition.
- **2024** — Began serving publicly as Radiation Safety Officer and Responsible Level 3 at Vast Space.
- **2026** — Identified publicly with Hadrian as a Founding NDT Engineering Leader and published his case for the role of the NDT architect in automated manufacturing.

## Achievements

- Founded the nonprofit American Aerospace Technical Academy in 2015.
- Built a tuition-free 12-week NDT training route for veterans, women, minorities, and people from underserved communities.
- Helped secure a $1 million California Apprenticeship Initiative grant with Cal State Los Angeles and LAUSD DACE Apprenticeship in 2016.
- Led AATA's first all-women NDT cohort in 2018.
- Received ASNT's 2023 Advancement of Active Military and Veterans in NDT Recognition.
- Trained technicians for aerospace employers including SpaceX, Goodrich Aerospace, and Northrop Grumman.
- Delivered an ASNT Fall Conference plenary lecture on the NDT equipment market in 2017.
- Holds or has held ASNT Level III qualifications across radiographic, ultrasonic, visual, and liquid penetrant testing, along with NAS 410 Level 3 qualifications across multiple methods.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Published 'NDT Architect: Building on the Foundation, Not Starting Over,' arguing for inspection systems that combine human craft knowledge with automation, robotics, computer vision, and data analysis.
- **2026-02** — Reported that AATA had completed cohorts and projects in California, Texas, and Florida and could support apprenticeship training in any state.
- **2025-11** — Received an ASNT NDT Level III Visual Testing credential valid through November 2030.
- **2025-01** — Featured in a Dürr NDT report about digital radiography used to inspect welds on Vast space-station components.
- **2024-10** — Announced AATA's expansion into affordable online autonomous training alongside continued free in-person opportunities in California and Texas and planned offerings in other states.

## Links

- Website: https://www.aatatraining.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartlevel3ndt

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-stewart
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27