Cyrus Jabbari

Cyrus Jabbari is the Chief Data Officer to the U.S. Department of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, which is the nation’s largest R&D enterprise.

In this role, he develops, manages, and oversees implementation of data policies across the Defense Research & Engineering enterprise, including 3-Star Deputy Directorates, Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), Defense Innovation Board (DIB), and Defense Science Board (DSB).

He also chairs the Transition Tracking Action Group (TTAG), established in 2024 by the USD R&E to harness advanced data analytics to track how the DoD delivers capabilities to the field. TTAG seeks to understand obstacles to the timely and cost-effective delivery of state-of-the-art systems and equipment to military personnel, as well as the effectiveness of efforts to improve transition outcomes.

Jabbari has experience in counterterrorism, missile defense, military and commercial space applications, and emerging and disruptive technologies. He joined the USD R&E in 2023 after supporting the organization for four years from the private sector as an analyst with ANSER, a public-service research institute supporting the U.S. military.

Jabbari has a long career working on issues related to nuclear nonproliferation.  He served as a fellow at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. He was a collaborator for AIT-WATCHMAN, a neutrino detector collaboration spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.K. Atomic Weapons Establishment. He also worked in the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs, Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch. He participated in nonproliferation research studies at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Southern California. He has a Master of Arts degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.