Daniel Hettema

Director of Digital Engineering, Modeling & Simulation (DEM&S)

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E)

Daniel Hettema serves as the Director of Digital Engineering, Modeling & Simulation (DEM&S)
within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
(OUSD(R&E)). In this role, he offers expertise to senior leaders and oversees policy, guidance,
and foundational research throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) that will advance the
workforce and accelerate the adoption of digital engineering (DE). Under Mr. Hettema's
leadership, participation in the Community of Practice (CoP) and interactions within the Digital
Engineering Body of Knowledge (DEBoK) have experienced significant growth, as evidenced by
more than a thousand percent increase. Additionally, he established an annual federal
government-wide knowledge exchange event dedicated to DE and drove the development of
the DoDI 5000.97, Digital Engineering. Mr. Hettema focuses on equipping practitioners across
the DoD with the tools, techniques, and training to empower the workforce and facilitate the
successful implementation of DE. He provides experience in both industry and government
supporting the Department of Energy (DOE) and Intelligence Community (IC) in addition to his
work within the DoD. Mr. Hettema holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering from George Mason
University, a M.S. in Space Systems Engineering from John Hopkins University, and is a
certified Systems Engineering Professional by INCOSE and a level four System Modeling
Language (SysML) modeler. His enthusiasm for digital engineering and modeling and
simulation within the DoD is evident through his commitment to fostering ongoing collaboration
and knowledge exchange.

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