Melissa Rhoads is the advocate for Biotechnology at Lockheed Martin and leads a portfolio in Research and Development for C6ISR. Previously, Melissa was a senior manager for Advanced Electronics, Materials and Manufacturing for LM Space and supported Space Advanced Programs, spanning engineering and business development for technical strategy and architecture solutions. She has also held a strategic role in Corporate Engineering and Technology, providing evaluation and advancement of biotechnology endeavors for the Corporation through outreach among government laboratories, other research organizations, universities, and potential industrial partners. Prior to her work at Corporate, Melissa spent 10 years in various systems engineering roles including Systems Engineering Manager, Lead System Engineer, Verification Lead, and Technical Proposal Lead at MFC and RMS. In these roles, she has worked on ship, submarine, missile defense, guided munitions, and energy programs for the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and government research organizations.

Melissa earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, from Bucknell University, a Master of Science in Engineering (Telecommunications and Networking) from University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the W.P. Carey School at Arizona State University, and a PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Maryland.