Cruz is a senior aerospace engineer in the Exploration Systems Engineering Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Hw was responsible on the development of entry, descent and landing (EDL) systems for robotic and human missions in space. He was a member of the highly successful Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project that placed two rovers (machines) on the surface of Mars in 2004. The project was focused on the parachute that he designed. 