Romain Fonteyne

Forbes 30 Under 30, Mars Rover Engineer, Trader

Netherlands

About

Former rover operations preparator on the ExoMars program at the European Space Agency, I have led NASA-funded research on lunar dust mitigation at the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology. I have authored and co-authored about 10 publications. Recognized by Forbes for the 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2021, and recipient of the International Giuseppe Sciacca Award for Science and Research in 2021. I was also described as a French Research Engineer of the Future honoree by L'Usine Nouvelle in 2019. I graduated from the Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées (IPSA) with a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering in 2019, from Politecnico di Torino with a Master's degree in Space Systems Engineering in 2020, then from Georgia Tech in 2025. I also hold 7 recognized certifications in Machine Learning and Deep Learning. Skills: Python, Matlab/Simulink, C, C++, HTML, CSS, Javascript. Specialties: Rovers Operations, Space Systems, Spacecraft Design, Machine Learning Academic: Astronomy, Astrometry, Celestial Mechanics, Computer-Aided Design, Computer Science, Embedded Systems, Finite Element Method, Optics, Plasma Physics, Satellites, Simulators, Spacecraft Design, Space Launchers, Space Propulsion, Systems Engineering, System Programming My passion for space exploration, astronomy, and technology carried me through my education at IPSA, a French university specialized in Aerospace and Astronautics engineering. I met many great people. But I also studied new languages, space missions, algorithms, higher mathematics, physics, all with the same fascination that drove me as a kid. I learned here how much there was yet to learn. If you want to chat, let's get in touch!

Experience

  • Trader at Self-employed
    Mar 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 5 mos

    Trader (Futures) avec plus de 300 000$ financés par des proprietary trading firms.

  • Member Board of Directors at JELLYSPACE
    Sep 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 11 mos

  • Project Lead at Foresight Institute
    Feb 2022 - Present · 4 yrs 6 mos

    Project lead for the Space Technology Tree development.

  • ExoMars Rover Operations Engineer at European Space Agency - ESA
    Oct 2020 - Oct 2022 · 2 yrs 1 mo

    Support Rover operations preparation which is done together with the industrial Rover designers and manufacturers and the Rover scientists for the different phases of the Rover mission, in particular after landing on Mars.

  • System Engineer at University of Leicester
    Aug 2020 - Sep 2020 · 2 mos

    Space mission design focused on habitat and logistics system design for space exploration which includes the of an interplanetary trajectory to Titan, future laboratories to be based on the Moon and cost evaluations, and the definition of technologies that are necessary for a crewed mission to Titan by 2060.