Our Team

Our team of former SpaceX engineers has been developing our technology since it started as a Stanford research project in 2015. Between us, we've worked at giants like IBM and NASA and successful startups like LeoLabs and Lyft.

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Leadership

John Dean

Co-Founder & CEO

John dropped out of Stanford’s electrical engineering master’s program to co-found WindBorne in 2019. At WindBorne, he has leveraged his background in machine learning and convex optimization to build AI weather forecasts and autonomous balloon flight software. While earning a BS in electrical engineering at Stanford, John served as co-president of the Stanford Space Initiative, the student group that gave rise to WindBorne. Before WindBorne, he worked on Falcon 9 main engine controls at SpaceX and autonomous systems at Lyft.

Dr. Andrey Sushko

Co-Founder & CTO

Andrey started the project that became WindBorne as a math and physics undergrad at Stanford in 2015. He has led WindBorne’s technology and R&D ever since. Andrey has 15 years of experience engineering custom integrated sensor, electrical, mechanical, and software systems, driven by a passion for miniaturization. Before WindBorne, he worked on sensors R&D at SpaceX and earned his PhD in Experimental Physics at Harvard as a Hertz and PD Soros Fellow.

Kai Marshland

Co-Founder & CPO

Kai leads product at WindBorne, where he oversees the company’s live data software and forecast offerings. Kai, who earned a B.S. in Computer Science at Stanford, has been working at early-stage startups since high school. He helped scale website plugin library POWr Plugins (since acquired) to millions of users as the company’s first engineer. Kai has also built complex data infrastructure at several aerospace companies including SpaceX, where he optimized data pipelines for astronaut controls, and LeoLabs, where he managed terabytes of space debris data as an early employee.

Todd Hutchinson

Director of Meteorology

Todd has more than 25 years of experience developing innovative weather applications and communicating such technology to consumers, meteorological communities, and businesses around the world. He has deep technical experience building and implementing trusted operational numerical weather prediction systems, including leading the development of IBM’s global weather model IBM GRAF. Todd is based in Arlington, Mass. and holds an MS in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.