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 on 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.
Previously, 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 areas of autonomous mission planning and execution along with system integration and testing.
Asteroid 333054 Bloomquist (2011 SK200) is named after him.
He is also the holder of four patents related to autonomous vehicle control systems for underground mining applications.
Outside of his professional life, he dabbles in producing electronic music under various monikers, vintage computing, wearable and interactive technology, and game development for retro platforms.
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.
