Defense IT Summit

Jake is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology Foundations. In this role Jake serves as the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) on matters related to S&T, developmental prototyping, and experimentation, acting as a crucial link between fundamental scientific discovery and its strategic application in defense. Jake served as the Senior Technical Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN RD&A). In this role Jake was responsible for implementation of Modular Open System Architecture (MOSA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as rapid acquisition in the Department of Navy and the Marine Corps. Jake previously served as Director of Advanced Capabilities for the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) Program. He was responsible for developing and integrating critical new technologies in conjunction with the US Army and DARPA into the CPS platform with an annual budget of over $60M. Jake served as a Program Manager at the Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Unmanned Systems transitioning critical technology to the warfighter and Program Lead for Team Submarine Project Turing rapidly introducing AI into the undersea domain with a total budget of $140M. Jake served as the Assistant Program Manager (APM) for Submarine Combat Future Development and the Payload Control System (PCS) in NAVSEA PEO Submarine with an annual budget of over $30M. His portfolio as APM included all Payload control and integration including unmanned vehicles, missiles and torpedoes for the BYG-1 Combat Control System and the Common Weapon Launchers (CWL). In his future development portfolio Jake was the Program Manager for the Submarine Launched Unmanned Aerial System (SLUAS) providing command and control as well as a Virtual Twin Combat System for the US and Australian Submarine Force.

Jake served as the SEA05 System Design Manager (SDM), Technical Warrant Holder and Chief Engineer for a SCO program in the Unmanned Maritime Systems Program, PMS 406 Program Office. Jake has extensive Naval Engineering experience from with the Remote Minehunting System (RMS) as the lead software engineer and extensive submarine development and engineering experience with the BYG-1 Submarine Combat Control System.

Jake’s first job with the Department of the Navy was a CO-OP at Lockheed Martin Moorestown during his undergraduate study at Drexel University in Philadelphia spending three years working Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense in charge of test development and simulations of the combat system capability. Upon graduating Jake joined the Federal Service at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division Hydrodynamics group spending 4 years as the In Service Engineering Agent (ISEA) for the Seawolf Class Submarine Ship Control System and Data Distribution System.

Jake first came to the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in 2011 serving as the lead software engineer for the RMS and AN/AQS-20A sonar system. From 2012 to 2014 he served as lead engineer of the Submarine Weapon Control System and head of the Open Architecture initiative for the BYG-1 Submarine Combat Control System.

Jake has received several NAVSEA awards including a NAVSEA Innovation Award over his career for innovation and excellence in engineering. Jake was recognized as Engineer of the Year (2020) by ASNE and has been published by the Naval Submarine League on Combat Systems of the Future. He has a Bachelor’s of Science (BS) in Computer Engineering from Drexel University, a Master’s of Science (MS) in Systems Engineering from The George Washington University, a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland and is completing a Masters of Arts (MA) in Strategic Studies at the Naval War College.

Dave Raley is the Chief Digital Business Officer at Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS), where he leads enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives that directly impact the quality of life for Marines and their families. As the founder of MCCS’s innovation capability and the architect behind its customer experience (CX) modernization strategy, Dave has redefined how mission-critical services are delivered across the Marine Corps.

He is the visionary behind Operation StormBreaker, a pioneering DevSecOps and pipeline-as-a-service framework that accelerates secure software delivery across the Department of Defense. Under his leadership, MCCS achieved the Marine Corps’ first authority-to-operate (ATO) via automated continuous delivery—setting a new benchmark for speed, compliance, and agility in government software development.

Dave’s work has been featured in FedScoop, Federal News Network, GovCIO Media & Research, and the ATARC Federal IT Newscast podcast, where he shares insights on agile ATOs, CX innovation, and cloud modernization. His efforts have saved MCCS an estimated $100K per application per month by reducing the cost of delay and streamlining acquisition and accreditation processes.

A frequent speaker at DoD and federal IT events, Dave brings a mission-first mindset to every conversation—bridging the gap between emerging technology and operational impact.

Captain Christopher D. Clark enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2008. His initial assignment was with the Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron Futenma, where he served as a Financial Analyst until 2010. He then moved to Marine Corps Forces Pacific, holding the position of Budget Chief until 2013, where he was responsible for overseeing financial transactions worth $38 million annually.

In 2012, Captain Clark completed an Associate of Arts in General Studies at Hawaii Pacific University, which assisted in his selection for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program. He continued his education at The Ohio State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Physics in 2016, followed by commissioning as a Communications Officer in the Marine Corps.

Captain Clark served as the Staff Communications Officer (S-6) for Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MAG-24) from 2017 to 2021. In this role, he managed the communications requirements for the Group and its seven Squadrons in garrison, exercise, and deployment requirements across the Pacific Region to include multiple Marine Corps Rotational Forces Darwin deployments, exercises in South Korea and the Philippines, and Service Level Training Exercises as the Aviation Command Element S-6.
Captain Clark obtained a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management and Policy from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2020 while working as the MAG-24 S-6, complementing his military duties and expertise in the field of information security.

Captain Clark was then selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School, graduating in 2023 with a Master of Science in Computer Science, specializing in Artificial Intelligence. For his thesis, he created a novel adversarial example attack using the A* Search algorithm that creates adversarial images that cause deep neural networks to misclassify images with minimal added noise. This thesis involved significant work in building, training, and attacking advanced machine learning models in white and black box settings.

Currently, Captain Clark is the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Information, Service Data Office Artificial Intelligence Lead Officer, a role that utilizes his extensive academic background and experience in the Marine Corps. He is the author of the USMC Artificial Intelligence Strategy, is leading the development of the USMC Artificial Intelligence Implementation Plan, and is a Doctor of Engineering in Artificial Intelligence candidate at George Washington University.