Dr. David “Dave” Young is a proven transformational leader with 20+ years of experience in aerospace and defense at Tier-1 primes and critical suppliers, helping deliver winning-edge mission capabilities to warfighters and commercial customers.

In his current role as Vice President and General Manager of the National Security Space (NSS) line of business within Lockheed Martin Space, Dave leads the execution of a nearly $7B portfolio comprised of 250+ critical defense and intelligence community programs. His team of 8,300+ employees are focused on delivering integrated end-to-end solutions, high-performance systems, critical space architectures and innovative concepts for national security missions.

Before rejoining Lockheed Martin (2024), Dave was the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for CAES, a defense electronics provider with $1+ billion yearly revenue generation. While at CAES, Dave directed new business growth, program execution, operations, and the company’s technical roadmap. Additionally, he led government relations, communications, and corporate development efforts, playing a key role in the sale of CAES to Honeywell.

Earlier in his career, Dave led Advanced Program Development at Lockheed Martin Space, managing strategic programs and captures across the business while driving innovation and business growth. Prior to his initial stint at Lockheed Martin, Dave spent nearly 12 years at Northrop Grumman in various roles, culminating as Sector Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. During his tenure at Northrop Grumman, he supported critical programs such as: the B-21 Raider; Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD); high altitude UAVs; as well as classified aircraft and various space programs.

In addition to his primary leadership roles, Dave serves on the advisory board for Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at Clarkson University and the advisory board for School of Arts and Sciences at Clarkson University.

His academic achievements include a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and respective bachelor’s degrees in physics and aeronautical engineering from Clarkson University. Additionally, Dave has published multiple technical articles on space vehicle design and was nominated as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Year in 2023 and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Year in 2024 by Washington Exec. Dave currently resides in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area with his wife, two children and two labrador retrievers — Gryffin and Harry.