Delgado's long career has included heading a major maritime museum, leading both the National Park Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s maritime heritage programs, giving numerous academic and public presentations, teaching at several universities, and sharing his expertise in hundreds of televisions documentaries as well as answering global media calls on shipwreck-related stories.He also pioneered the standards and guidelines for the U.S. government’s National Park Service’s National Historic Landmark Studies to preserve maritime shipwrecks and cultural land sites as designated, protected areas.