[2] While at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, he served as Chair of the Safety Working Group on the COMSTAC;[3] his two-year tenure ended in 2022.

[10] The firm's first product, Taxman, a PacMan look alike for the Apple II computer, was eventually purchased by Atari and released under the Atarisoft label.

From 1983 to 1984 Autry worked for Honeywell's Training and Control Systems Division in West Covina, California developing software for the production department in support of various military projects.

Autry joined CompuCom as Technical Services Manager overseeing their branches in several Western US cities including Los Angeles and Orange County.

[citation needed] After earning his MBA at the University of California, Irvine, Autry joined the UCI faculty, teaching innovation, entrepreneurship, strategy, and macroeconomics as an adjunct lecturer from 2002 to 2014.

Autry left USC in July 2020 following the announcement of his nomination by the President to serve as the chief financial officer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

[14] Dr. Autry joined the University of Central Florida in the fall of 2024 as the Professor of Practice in the College of Business and Associate Provost for Space Commercialization and Strategy.

[citation needed] Autry is also extensively quoted in mainstream media articles on the space industry and on China policy.

[19][20] Autry's pieces and quotes often argue that public investment in NASA's traditional and commercial programs returns value to the taxpayer.

He asserts that this movement is required to secure continued global economic development and long-term environmental sustainability which he does not believe can be achieved via traditional "green" solutions.

[citation needed] Dr. Autry's latest book, Red Moon Rising: How America Will Beat China on the Final Frontier, published in April 2024 and co-authored by Peter Navarro, argues that due to autocratic motivations the People's Republic of China and Americans are entangled in a brutal cold war and a second, far more consequential, race to the Moon.

[24] The book debuted at #1 in New Releases in Astrophysics & Space Science, Public Affairs & Administration, and Military Aviation History and continues to be a best seller.

"[27] On March 28, 2012, Autry presented testimony entitled "The Price of Public Diplomacy with China" to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversights and Investigations.

[citation needed] Autry also testified to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee at a nomination hearing on November 10, 2020.

Autry noted the challenges of 2020 faced on Earth and reminded the committee that the Apollo landings occurred during a period of war, civil unrest, and even a major pandemic (the Hong Kong flu).

[30][31] On February 3, 2022, Dr. Autry participated in the Oxford Union Society Space Race Debate as a proponent of the human habitation of Mars.

[35] The team's recommendations formed the basis for the Trump space policy, which resulted in a series of budget increases for NASA, a commitment to returning to the Moon and has been widely regarded as expansive.

In November of 2023, he was appointed to serve on the Committee on the Review of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which conducts a Congressionally mandated review of NASA’s SBIR and STTR programs.