John Dargan, Ph.D.

John L. Dargan, Ph.D. is a member of the Senior Executive Service and serves as the Chief Systems Engineer for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In this capacity, he provides technical oversight for DHS Component acquisition programs and facilitates their transformation of customer requirements into operational capabilities, identification and mitigation of technical risks, and efficient capability delivery through the systems development life cycle. Dr. Dargan has served multiple federal agencies over 30 years including his service as a United States Air Force officer where he was assigned to various research and development, engineering, test, and acquisition duties. Notably, he served as Chief Engineer for a revolutionary smart-weapons system upgrade following Operation Desert Storm, and he later served as an Acquisition Category-1 Program Manager for an interagency, joint-service radar and communications system development. His educational background includes 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.

Dr. Dargan is DHS Level III-certified in the Systems Engineering and Program Management career fields. He has been recognized through numerous awards for his science and engineering leadership across DHS, including the Under Secretary’s Award for Science and Technology (2016) and, most recently, the Secretary’s Award for Excellence (2019). Dr. Dargan is also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University providing course instruction in cyber security policy and compliance.