Ryan Riedel, who was named chief information officer (CIO) at the Department of Energy (DoE) in early February, has stepped down from that position and returned to Elon Musk’s SpaceX where he has held senior technology roles since 2020, a knowledgeable source told MeriTalk.
Dawn Zimmer, who joined DoE in November 2024 as principal deputy CIO, has been named acting CIO at the agency, the source said. Zimmer’s LinkedIn page reflects that title at the DoE, although the Energy Department’s website continues to identify her as principal deputy CIO.
Prior to her arrival at DoE, Zimmer served for five years as the executive director of Information Technology Experience and Engagement at Virginia Tech. Prior to that, she worked for 16 years at the Federal Aviation Administration, and from 2016 to 2017 as deputy director of service delivery within the Justice Department’s CIO office.
A source told MeriTalk that the Riedel appointment as DoE CIO was intended as a 60-day detail from SpaceX. A second knowledgeable source told us last month that his appointment was seen as a temporary one.
According to his LinkedIn page, Riedel has been the lead network security engineer at SpaceX since late 2022, and before that, he held the title of network security engineer with the company from late 2020.
Prior to his tenure at SpaceX, Riedel was a network manager with U.S. Army Cyber Command from 2019 to 2020. Before that, he held tech and engineering roles for seven years at the Corpus Christi Army Depot, which focuses on aircraft maintenance.
Riedel is a seven-year U.S. Navy veteran with service dates from 2007 to 2014.
