Leif Bloomquist P.Eng. is a Canadian engineer, inventor, electronic musician, and game developer. He is currently a Senior Software Systems Engineer in Robotics and Space Operations at Macdonald, Dettwiler, and Associates (MDA) in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
He studied Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo, with a focus in Intelligent Systems. He has worked on developing and testing science instruments aboard the Phoenix Mars Lander, the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (aka Dextre) on the International Space Station, the Next Generation Canadarm R&D project, and autonomous vehicles for underground mining.
Most recently, he has been working on remote operations for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission, specifically the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) science instrument contributed by the Canadian Space Agency and developed by MDA. OSIRIS-REx launched in 2016 and returned a sample to Earth in September 2023.
Currently, he is working on the Canadarm 3 project for NASA’s upcoming Lunar Gateway space station as a product manager, in the area of autonomous mission planning and execution.
Asteroid 333054 Bloomquist (2011 SK200) is named after him.
As a space and technology enthusiast, he also speaks frequently to students about careers in engineering and space exploration, new discoveries, and how space technologies have benefits on Earth.
Leif Bloomquist 