Marat Kulakhmetov

Marat Kulakhmetov earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UConn in 2009. As an undergraduate, he conducted research in Professor Eric Jordan and Professor Michael Renfro labs. He went on to complete his Ph.D. thesis focused on ab initio processes in hypersonic reentry flows. 

Following graduate school, Kulakhmetov joined Blue Origin as a Senior Propulsion Engineer. There, he played a key role in the development of the BE-3U hydrolox and BE-4 methalox engines, and helped architect the BE-7 lunar lander engine. Both the BE-3U and BE-4 engines flew successfully on the inaugural Blue Origin New Glenn launch in 2025. During his time at Blue Origin, he also developed novel solvers for modeling rocket engine thermodynamic cycles and for simulating transient stress accumulation during the additive manufacturing of large engine components. 

In 2021, Kulakhmetov joined Varda Space Industries as one of its first 10 employees – with the goal of building a manufacturing ecosystem in low Earth orbit. He led the development of the Varda reentry vehicle and established the company’s aerodynamics department. His work directly contributed to two successful reentry flights in 2024 and 2025. Kulakhmetov also spearheaded the adaptation of the Varda vehicles for hypersonic testing and launched the company’s flight-testing business line. 

Outside of his professional work, Kulakhmetov is an avid pilot and has flown a wide range of aircraft, including gliders, single-engine airplanes, and gyrocopters.