Aprille Joy Ericsson (born April 1, 1963)[2] is an American aerospace engineer who had served as the assistant secretary of defense for science and technology.

[9] While attending graduate school at Howard University, Ericsson accepted an aerospace engineer position at the NASA Goddard Flight Center in Maryland.

Ericsson has served as an engineer, technologist, instrument lead, and project and program manager at NASA for more than 30 years, lending her technical and managerial expertise to projects including the James Webb Space Telescope, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2).

[11] In addition to her roles as an engineer, Ericsson has been passionate about mentoring young people and students for much of her life and career, beginning in high school and college.

By lecturing and serving on advisory boards at multiple universities, advising pre-college STEM programs, and reviewing proposals for NASA- and NSF-funded grants, Ericsson has supported numerous engineering students and young professionals pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

She also believes that having access to the internet alone could provide more opportunities to the Black community[15] Ericsson-Jackson has also campaigned for all girls to become more engaged in Math and Science as women are grossly underrepresented in STEM.

On September 28, 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Ericsson to be assistant secretary of defense for science and technology.