About

Leading with technical depth.

I’m an operator, a linguist, and a developer by background. My work today is leading strategy, people, and the decisions that turn technical capability into organizational results.

Ryan T. Jessee

I’ve built software and AI capabilities, led multidisciplinary teams, owned technical product delivery, and grown a data and AI business.

At ManTech, I served as the primary operational deputy to the Chief AI Officer and led the build of the Data & AI Practice from inception. That meant connecting engineering and delivery to the operating model, commercial strategy, and performance of the business.

I stay close to the technology because it informs the decisions I’m accountable for. I care about what a system can actually do, what it will take to deliver, and whether the team has the resources and judgment to make it work.

Professional profile

Today

From technical evidence to enterprise decisions.

I work with senior national security leaders to evaluate commercial AI capabilities and providers, shape technical approaches, and prepare organizations for adoption.

My contribution combines technical evaluation with organizational judgment: examining the evidence behind a claim, understanding the limitations, and helping stakeholders agree on what a useful solution needs to do.

I also work on enterprise AI integration and workforce literacy. Choosing a technology is one part of adoption; people need the skills, operating practices, and accountability to use it well.

I’m also a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech. One question I’m exploring is how organizations keep human recovery capability usable as they automate work.

Experience

  1. 2026–present

    AI engineering & policy · National security

    Help senior leaders decide which commercial AI is worth adopting, then prepare their people to use it well.

  2. 2023–2026

    ManTech · Director, Data & AI Practice

    Built a Data & AI business from the ground up, joining the engineering to the operating model behind it.

  3. 2020–2023

    AI capability & product development

    Turned language expertise into software: built an NLP capability and led a product from roadmap to first release.

  4. 2014–2020

    U.S. Navy · Cryptologic linguist

    Worked as a linguist, then led the analysts doing that work.

  5. 2008–2014

    U.S. embassies · East Asia

    Started in technical operations, keeping systems running for U.S. diplomatic posts.

Education & credentials

Ph.D. in progress

Virginia Tech

M.A., Global Affairs & Management

Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University

B.S., Computer Science

University of Hawaiʻi

CISSP · PMP · PMI-ACP

How organizations put AI to work.

Public discussions on AI adoption, human oversight, and the expertise organizations need to sustain both.

Selected appearances