John Tylko served as Chief Innovation Officer at Aurora Flight Sciences, where he led the company’s technology strategy and commercialization efforts. He played a key role in Aurora’s growth and major program development prior to the company’s acquisition by Boeing in 2017. He also helped develop the vision for Boeing’s Aerospace and Autonomy Center in Kendall Square near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Tylko’s career has focused on the development of innovative technologies and products across the aerospace, electronics, and computer industries. He earned a B.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT in 1979 and began his engineering career at GE Aerospace, where he worked on some of the first composite structural assemblies for aircraft engines.

In 1981, Tylko co-founded General Computer, a company that developed innovative electronics and personal computer products. He also co-founded VideoGuide, which created one of the first interactive television program guides.

Tylko co-founded Aurora Flight Sciences with John Langford in 1989 and served on Aurora’s Board of Directors for nearly 30 years. During his tenure, he led the company’s Global Hawk program, established Aurora’s composite structures manufacturing center, and developed its aerostructures business sector.

He later founded Aurora’s Research and Development Center in Cambridge and served as a principal architect of the company’s aerospace autonomy strategy. Under his leadership, Aurora advanced pioneering autonomous flight programs for the U.S. Air Force, DARPA, NASA, and other government agencies, helping establish the company as a leader in autonomous aviation systems.

Tylko has also served as a lecturer in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a recipient of MIT’s Founders Award for innovation and entrepreneurship. He was a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum and is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).