Software Engineering Institute

DevSecOps Days DC 2020 was hosted by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and held virtually on October 1, 2020. In this presentation, Sean Brady, DoD Senior Lead for Software Acquisition, Undersecretary of Defense (Acquisition & Sustainment), discussed how software acquisition and DevSecOps can improve the lethality of the DoD.

Mr. Sean Brady is the DoD’s Senior Lead for Software (SW) Acquisition Policy and Workforce, in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Enablers (DASD(AE)). He serves as the functional manager for defense SW modernization policy, programs, and initiatives to ensure the US dominates in digital warfighting capability delivery. He leads development of the new DoD Software Acquisition Pathway policy, major program enablement and adoption of DevSecOps, and workforce development for the DoD SW Engineering & Acquisition workforce (200K+ professionals).

Professor Brady served as the Learning Director for Software Acquisition at the Defense Acquisition University. He led strategy to transform DoD's practices, competencies, training, and workforce—and accelerate the adoption of modern, commercial SW development practices across DoD and DAU's curriculum. He launched DAU's DevSecOps practice, the DevSecOps Academy, integrating elite full-stack Cloud One engineers and armed forces pioneers with DAU professors.

Prior to DAU, Mr. Brady served 9 years as the Deputy Director for Software Engineering (SWE), in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Engineering (DASD(SE)), within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). He led change, provided oversight of 170+ major programs (a $1.7T portfolio), and managed governance of Software Acquisition and Development within DoD. He led SWE oversight on DoD's most complex, highest-visibility defense programs (RD&E > $480M; procurement > $2.79 billion). Mr. Brady is an expert in software parametric statistical analysis and assessing large-scale Agile software development efforts. He informed DoD's senior-decision makers, industry CEOs, and Congress on SWE across Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force programs. His strategic duties include leading policy and guidance development; workforce planning; and outreach to optimize the DoD's SWE capability. He launched DoD's largest acquisition workforce modernization initiative (impacting 200K+ professionals). In addition, he championed OSD's efforts to improve performance measurement practices across DoD and industry.

Prior to his role in the Pentagon, he served in the Army's RDECOM/ARDEC as an Armament Software Engineering Center (ASEC) Special Projects Team Lead and as a Program Manager, Close Combat Systems Project Officer (PO) where he planned and executed high-visibility experimental and rapid fielding programs -- supporting elite special operations and front-line Warfighters. He is the Defense Innovation Board's Software Acquisition workforce co-lead, a member of the Army's Acquisition Corps and has served as a US Delegate to NATO.

Watch the video.