Dr. Amy E. Henninger was sworn in as the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) on March 23, 2026. A Presidential appointee confirmed by the United States Senate, she serves as the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense on operational and live fire test and evaluation of Department of War (DoW) weapon systems. This position entails the oversight of all operational test and evaluation executed in the DoW, to include the independent evaluations of select acquisition programs cumulatively valued at over $1.5 trillion.

An established leader at the intersection of advanced technology and national security, Dr. Henninger has built a three-decade career that bridges government, industry, and academia. Within the DoW, Dr. Henninger previously served as the first Senior Advisor for Software and Cybersecurity to DOT&E, where she was the Pentagon’s final technical authority for assessing these areas on major acquisition programs. Henninger also served as the Army's Modeling & Simulation Executive, providing leadership for its $10B M&S portfolio, and as a Defense Intelligence Senior Leader, where she guided a cross-agency team in developing the Defense Intelligence Agency's Digital Futures Strategy. Most recently, Henninger was the Senior Science Advisor for Advanced Computing at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), shaping strategy and leading research in fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, and Quantum Information Science.

Dr. Henninger has also demonstrated her ability to translate advanced concepts into practical applications within the private sector. She founded a P&L center for the AI startup Soar Technology, Inc., a technology company focused on third-wave AI solutions. Over her tenure, Dr. Henninger led research teams sponsored by DARPA and other Defense agencies, growing the office by 400%. Her private sector experience also includes co-leading the development of a distributed virtual training system used to train over 1.5 million soldiers.

Dr. Henninger’s professional experience is built upon a strong academic foundation, including a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering with emphasis in AI, along with five other degrees across the mathematical, computing, engineering, social, and management sciences, providing a broad base of analytical skills with focused expertise in advanced technology. Blending deep academic knowledge with practical, hands-on expertise, Dr. Henninger has authored over 80 publications, taught university classes in computer science and AI, trained with the NSA’s cyber red team, and received a variety of awards for her work.