Dr. John Dargan

Executive Director Requirements, Engineering, and Acquisition Science and Technology Directorate

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Dr. John L. Dargan is a member of the Senior Executive Service and serves as the Executive Director for
the Requirements, Engineering, and Acquisition (REA) Office within the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate. In this capacity, he directs an $85 million annual
budget and leads a 75‐person federal workforce delivering advanced science, engineering, and innovation
capabilities in support of S&T and DHS Components. His portfolio includes strategic foresight analysis to
anticipate emerging threats and opportunities; operations analysis, mission engineering, standards, and test
and evaluation to enable successful research and development and acquisition outcomes; and SAFETY Act
implementation to incentivize anti‐terrorism technologies development, qualification, and deployment.

Prior to this role, Dr. Dargan directed the REA Systems Engineering and Standards Division, where he led
systems engineering application and standards development for research and development and Component
acquisition programs, efficiently transforming customer requirements into operational capabilities and
managing technical risk from concept definition through deployment. Dr. Dargan also completed a detail
as the S&T Chief of Staff, where he oversaw the operational and organizational needs of the $1 billion,
500‐employee S&T Directorate and served as an S&T adviser to the DHS Secretary and Under Secretary.

Before joining DHS S&T, Dr. Dargan served as a United States Air Force (USAF) officer in a variety of
research and development, engineering, test, and acquisition assignments, directing major weapons,
communications, and aircraft systems development efforts. He served as Chief Engineer for a revolutionary
smart‐weapons system upgrade following Operation Desert Storm and later as an Acquisition Category I
Program Manager for an interagency, joint‐service radar and communications system development
program. He culminated his USAF career as Chief, Investment Programs Division, Headquarters USAF
Congressional Budget Liaison, where he was the principal interface to congressional Appropriations and
Budget Committees for flagship programs including the F‐22 and Joint Strike Fighter.

Dr. Dargan earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University, a Master of
Science in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Doctor of Philosophy
in Systems Engineering from The George Washington University. He is DHS Level III‐certified in
Systems Engineering and Program Management and holds a United States patent for an innovative system
data access approach. He received the Career Communications Group Career Achievement in Government
Award and has been recognized through numerous DHS awards, including the Secretary’s Award for
Excellence and the Under Secretary’s Award for Science and Technology. Dr. Dargan is also an adjunct
professor at The George Washington University, where serves as a research advisor in the Cybersecurity
doctoral program and provides course instruction in Cybersecurity Policy and Compliance.

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