Contractor to Civil Servant: NASA Welcomes Jared Spiers

Jared Spiers developed an interest in contributing to NASA's mission long before he joined the agency. Growing up near NASA's Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and hearing about his father's work there gave him a firsthand connection to the nation's space program. Before finishing high school, he already knew where he wanted to work. Spiers earned three associate degrees from Pearl River Community College in 2017, in instrumentation, electronics, and electrical technology. He began working at NASA Stennis as a contractor on the Monday following his graduation. At the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2), a facility originally built to test Saturn V rocket stages during the Apollo Program, Spiers helped prepare the stand for the Green Run test series of the first core stage of NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket ahead of the successful Artemis I test flight. "Being hands-on with the rocket was a whole different experience," Spiers said. "Childhood me would have been crazily excited to see it." That work helped lay the foundation for the Artemis II test flight around the Moon last April, during which the first astronauts to fly aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft traveled farther in space than humans ever have before. In June 2026, Spiers transitioned to a civil servant role under NASA's workforce directive to restore core competencies. "When I joined NASA, it meant a lot more. It felt like a goal achieved," he said. "As a contractor, I was never treated any differently, but now with NASA, you feel even more a part of the team. There is more ownership and a very significant sense of pride." As an electrical engineering technician, Spiers works 12-hour shifts beginning at 6 a.m. He is part of the team preparing the stand for stage testing of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, a commercial partnership that supports NASA's goal of landing American astronauts on the Moon and building a Moon Base. His daily responsibilities include running conduit and cabling, connecting data-collecting instruments, and ensuring motor valves operate as intended so that accurate data can be collected. The pace is fast, he said, but he takes pride in making sure everything is done right. NASA has become a family affair for the Spiers household. His father, Joey Spiers, also moved from a longtime contracting role to become a NASA civil servant electrical engineering technician during the summer, and his brother-in-law, Brock Sheppard, joined the agency as a mechanical engineering technician in September. Back home in Poplarville, Mississippi, the enthusiasm extends to his wife and children. His six-year-old son points at the International Space Station when it passes overhead, convinced his dad works there, while his younger daughter calls him at work to ask about the rocket. Spiers brings a family-oriented mindset to his job, viewing his crew as extended family, and credits the veteran employees who mentored him as a new graduate. Now he pays that mentorship forward. During NASA's Career Technical Education Day at Stennis in September, he shared his path to the agency, the value of a strong work ethic, and how technical skills support the mission with community college students and a virtual audience of thousands. "My crew is great. We love our jobs, we love being together, and we take care of each other," Spiers said.