The Department of Defense (DoD) has appointed IT modernization expert Jason Weiss as the agency’s chief software officer (CSO). In this new role, Weiss will lead efforts to modernize legacy applications and implement modern software development practices across the DoD.
Weiss’ appointment is the latest change among military IT officials, including Nic Chaillan, the former CSO for the U.S. Air Force who resigned in September 2021. The DoD Office of the CIO announced Weiss’ appointment on Twitter on October 1.
According to his LinkedIn page, Weiss joined the DoD in January 2021, as the Department’s director for Software Modernization, following a 20-year career in the private sector overseeing IT and cloud development initiatives.
Before joining the Pentagon, Weiss was vice president of IT transformation for BAE Systems, where he led efforts in defining corporate-wide transformational strategies for data, digital business optimization, and digital transformation. Before that, he served as the company’s technical director. During his career in the private sector, Weiss held leadership roles at several technology companies, including Smartrac, Rapid7, Special Technologies Laboratory, and Sybase. Weiss began his career as a cryptologic technician in the U.S. Navy, where he served from 1990 to 1992.
Weiss received a Master of Arts from the American Public University System in intelligence and information warfare. He also holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Management and Technology.
