Kristen Baldwin

Deputy Assistant Secretary (Science, Technology & Engineering)

Department of the Air Force

Kristen J. Baldwin, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology and Engineering, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Ms. Baldwin provides guidance, advocacy, and policy for the Air Force's annual $2.6 billion science and technology program and $1 billion developmental prototyping and experimentation program, conducted at 40 research sites worldwide. She provides engineering and technical management direction on digital engineering, cyber resilient weapons, corrosion control, capability development planning, and the functional management of more than 14,000 military and civilian scientists and engineers. In addition, she is responsible for providing technical advice and counsel to the Air Force Acquisition Executive on a broad range of engineering and technical management areas. As part of this role, she oversees the Air Force’s international science and technology outreach via various bi-lateral and multi-lateral engagement fora, including the NATO Science and Technology Organization and the NATO Air Force Armaments Group. Before this appointment, Ms. Baldwin served as the Deputy Director for Strategic Technology Protection and Exploitation within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. She was the Department of Defense (DoD) lead for maintaining technology advantage by mitigating exploitation and vulnerabilities of critical missions, programs, technologies, and the industrial base. Ms. Baldwin oversaw program protection policy and related hardware and software assurance, anti-tamper, and critical technical information protection practices.
A member of the Senior Executive Service since 2007, Ms. Baldwin has also served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Engineering; and Deputy Director, Software Engineering and System Assurance. Before joining the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Ms. Baldwin served as a science and technology advisor in the Army’s Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans. She began her career at the U.S. Army’s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal.
Ms. Baldwin is a recipient of the Meritorious Presidential Rank award in recognition of exemplary service, and the National Defense Industrial Association Lt Gen Thomas R. Ferguson, Jr., Systems Engineering Excellence Award. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Master of Systems Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.

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