For those digging some info on how DARPA works

 

DARPA Director = Political Apointee

Deputy Director, usually promoted from within, appointed by Director = DARPA employee

 

6 Offices with Office Level Directors and sometimes deputies = DARPA employees

1. BTO - Biological Technologies Office

2. DSO - Defense Sciences Office

3. I2O - Information Innovation Office

4. MTO - Microsystems Technology Office

5. STO - Strategic Technology Office

6. TTO - Tactical Technology Office

Programs are conceived under the Offices

 

Program Managers (PM) typically direct DARPA employees

PMs are either civilians transferred from other DoD/Government Agencies

or mid-level Military Officers on assignment to DARPA

PMs usually rotate during a program (2 year assignment) - not always the case

 

DARPAs mission is to develop the technologies in their infant stages and then

transition them to direct control of the military.

DARPA was criticized for many years (late 90s to ~2010) that they were

transitioning few technologies.

To fix this, DARPA now usually brings in Deputy PMs (DPM) from outside.

DPMs now typically work for military organizations tech is exptected to transition to

DPMs typically do not show up as DARPA employees - not always the case in past.

 

Remainder of program team generally filled in by SETA contractors and SMEs

SETA - Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance

Major SETA contractors for DARPA: Booz Allen Hamilton and CENTRA Technology

SMEs - Subject Matter Experts from military and other government agencies

SETA/SMEs will be the program Chief Engineers and Integrated Product Team (IPT) leads

None are direct DARPA employees - Most will have offices at DARPA

If you are searching for DARPA team members you will need to find the SETA contract.

Governtment agency SMEs will be more difficult to ID

 

DARPA programs will typically work with government labs to perform initial studies

JHU/APL; Sandia; Lawrence Livermore; etc. - Answering question: Is tech possible?

DARPA will then solicit proposals from industry for "seedling" contracts

These are concept level studies to determine who could make tech real

Further contracts (for preliminary design, detail design, and technology demonstration)

are then limited to the industry partners that worked the seedlings.

DARPA manages these programs - industry does the work - typically, not always

Sometimes government labs hired to do the work to get to tech demonstration

 

Current DARPA Director: Walker - moved up through ranks

PM in TTO -TTO deputy -> TTO Office dir -> DARPA Dep Dir -> DARPA Dir

Not typical, usually Director comes from outside

Directors tend to put more focus on programs aligning with past experience

Who were directors before Walker?

What was their past experience (what were their focus areas)?

Not just Directors - What about Office Directors and PMs?

Where are they now?

Many move to industry and take their knowledge with them.