Government and public sector
10 DARPA program managers
These ten current and former DARPA program managers have worked at DARPA. A reader can learn how program managers at DARPA approach their work from people who have held these roles.
Professionals to explore
01—10Bryan Jacobs
LinkedInExperience: Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Former Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (2020–2025). The profile describes ideation and management of R&D efforts in alternative computing, including analog neural networking, quantum-inspired optimization and encrypted processing. Bryan Jacobs was earlier a Program Manager at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (1989–2012) and is now a Visiting Research Scientist at ARLIS.
Byron Cook
LinkedInExperience: Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) since 2024, based in Arlington, Virginia according to the profile. Byron Cook is also Vice President and Distinguished Scientist at Amazon Web Services (since 2021), after serving there as Senior Principal Applied Scientist, Automated Reasoning (2014–2021), and is a Professor at UCL.
Caleb Royer
LinkedInExperience: Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) since 2025, based in Arlington, Virginia. The profile says Caleb Royer directed a $150 million R&D portfolio across space, ground, cyber and cross-domain technologies. Earlier roles were Head of Space Technology and Principal Investigator at Scientific Systems (2020–2025).
David Rushing Dewhurst
LinkedInExperience: Program Manager - Information Innovation Office (I2O) · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Program Manager in the Information Innovation Office (I2O) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) since 2024, based in Arlington, Virginia. David Rushing Dewhurst was earlier an Advisor to DARPA's Strategic Technology Office (2023–2024) and Section Science Lead at Charles River Analytics (2023), and was a Capstone Fellow at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs (2023–2024).
Iskren Abdomerovic
LinkedInExperience: Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) since 2024. The profile says Iskren Abdomerovic built a $56M R&D portfolio focused on electronic warfare and leads two programs, having been formally responsible for three. Earlier roles were Senior Lead Engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton (2007–2024) and Senior Signal Processing Engineer at Thales (2004–2007).
Kyle L. Woerner
LinkedInExperience: DARPA Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Former Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (2018–2024), with an Acting Deputy Director, Tactical Technology Office role in 2023 during that time. Kyle L. Woerner is now Chief Scientist at STR (since 2024), and was earlier a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2016–2018).
Michael McDonald
LinkedInExperience: Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) since 2025, in the Defense Sciences Office according to the profile, with portfolio interests including plasma science, spacecraft power, propulsion and thermal management, and AI interpretability. Michael McDonald was an Aerospace Engineer at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (2014–2025).
Patrick Highland
LinkedInExperience: DARPA Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) since 2026, in the Tactical Technology Office according to the profile. Patrick Highland is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, with a Commander and Experimental Test Pilot role listed since 2007, and the profile notes a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering.
Patrick Shafto
LinkedInExperience: Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) since 2023. The profile describes starting and leading programs that bring together math, machine learning and human behavior to create, understand and improve AI. Patrick Shafto is also Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Rutgers University–Newark and was a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study (2021–2023).
Paul E. Sheehan
LinkedInExperience: Program Manager · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Former Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (2017–2023). Paul E. Sheehan has been a Program Manager Operating Partner at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) since 2023, and also held Group Leader at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (2008–2018).
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's technical office and field to your question, since a program manager in information, defense sciences or tactical technology works on different problems. Check whether the role is current or former, and whether the person came from industry, a university lab or military service.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does a DARPA program manager take a program from an initial idea to an approved program?
- 02How do program managers structure and oversee a research portfolio across several programs?
- 03What changes for a researcher or engineer moving from industry, academia or the military into a program manager role?
Reaching DARPA program managers
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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