[1] He was a member of the Hughes Aircraft Company High Achiever Student program, where he worked on the Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar system.
After earning his PhD Messac joined the Draper Laboratory where he worked on multibody dynamics and structural optimisation.
He moved to Syracuse University in 2010, where he was made Distinguished Professor and Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
[5] Alongside transforming diversity within the department, Messac helped to raise Syracuse twelve positions in the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking.
[1] In 2013 he joined Mississippi State University, where he held the Earnest W. and Mary Ann Deavenport, Jr., Chair and Dean of Engineering.