Doctor Rick Sternbach was a Starfleet officer in the 24th century. He was a scientific and research specialist.
In 2353, he was listed as a Starfleet Operational Support Services officer on a directory placard for Starbase 32, Maxia Zeta. His office was located in room #45246. (TNG: "Violations", directory)
In 2364, Captain Sternbach was the commander of the USS Tranquillity Base. Sometime in that year, he received an order about modifying the ship's Romulan Neutral Zone border patrol from Commodore Joshua Jae of Starfleet Mission Operations Division. (TNG: "Conspiracy", okudagram)
In 2368, he was listed as a Advanced Technologies Group officer on the second version of the dedication plaque for the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG: "Silicon Avatar", dedication plaque)
In the 2370s, he was listed as a Science Ops officer on the dedication plaques of several Federation starships, including the USS Defiant, in 2370, the USS Voyager, in 2371, and the USS Prometheus, in 2373. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", dedication plaque; VOY: "Caretaker", dedication plaque; VOY: "Message in a Bottle", dedication plaque)
In 2372, he was named among the Research & Development test listed on the dedication plaque of the USS Enterprise-E. (Star Trek: First Contact, dedication plaque)