Software Engineering Institute

Brigid Petrie O’Hearn is a senior member of the technical staff and senior software acquisition innovation specialist at the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute (SEI), working in the Software Solutions Division.

O’Hearn coaches and mentors software acquisition program personnel, influences DoD software and cyber policy, influences DoD software workforce initiatives, and contributes to research projects.

Recently, O’Hearn has been involved with OSD’s Software Acquisition Pathway team within Acquisition Enablers. She shares her software expertise across many areas, including acquisition best practices, software metrics, and navigating weapon system-specific challenges through the Weapons Ignite initiative. She has also helped OSD develop acquisition and workforce guidance.

Before joining the SEI, O’Hearn had 20-years’ experience as a DoD civilian supporting both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy after a stint in industry. She held various software engineering, program management, and human capital assignments as well as top leadership roles in the Air Force Sustainment Center, Air Force Personnel Center, and Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. She worked on numerous DoD weapon systems software programs, including cargo aircraft (C-141, C-130, C-5, C-17), fighter aircraft (F-15, F-35), and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms (JSTARS, DCGS, Predator, Reaper, Global Hawk). In 2018 she joined the F-35 Joint Program Office and became the first chief software officer; after that, she was the deputy chief of human capital.

O’Hearn is a proud graduate of the National Defense University's Eisenhower School and the DoD's Defense Senior Leader Development Program.

O’Hearn is a member of IEEE. She earned a BS in computer science from Mercer University, an MS in logistics management from Georgia College & State University, and an MS in national resource strategy from the Eisenhower School of the National Defense University. O’Hearn is also a certified Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Program Consultant (SPC).