Ian Higgins

Ian Higgins is a Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a position they have held since 2023. Prior to this role, Ian served as a Chief Developmental Test Pilot for the US Navy from 2019 to 2023 and worked as an FA-18 Engineering Test Pilot and Test Squadron Department Head with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 between 2016 and 2019. Ian began their aviation career as a Naval Aviator and Strike Fighter Pilot at Strike Fighter Squadron 32 from 2012 to 2015, and later became a Test Pilot at the United States Naval Test Pilot School in 2015. Ian holds several degrees, including a PhD in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Maryland, expected in 2025, and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, completed in 2018.