Charles Lyons-Burt
Josh Jackson has accomplished a great deal in the more-than-three years since Executive Mosaic last connected with him for a Spotlight interview. Since then, the SAIC executive vice president’s focus has shifted from working with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps as clients to overseeing the company’s Army business vertical. Jackson, who has been with SAIC for over two decades and nearly his whole career, has also earned two consecutive Wash100 Awards in 2024 and 2025 celebrating his impact on the GovCon industry.
Further still, with Jackson’s help, SAIC has recently notched several noteworthy achievements: he and his team delivered prototypes supporting the Army’s transformation efforts; they’ve expanded their partnership with ServiceNow to leverage their commercial AI platform to modernize missions across the Army and Department of Defense; and have expanded SAIC’s contract portfolio with new cloud migration work.
Jackson took time out of his busy schedule to connect with ExecutiveBiz for a brand new Spotlight interview wherein he shared how SAIC is meeting warfighters with the speedy integration agility they demand and also provided a window into the company’s talent incubation and retention strategy.
ExecutiveBiz: How are the shifting tides of geopolitical threats and challenges impacting the defense capabilities SAIC is offering?
Josh Jackson: Geopolitical instability is accelerating the demand for speed, resilience and adaptability. At SAIC, we’re focused on delivering capabilities that can be rapidly fielded, integrated and scaled—whether that’s software-defined systems, resilient C2 networks or digital engineering approaches that shorten timelines to get kit in the hands of soldiers. Our soldiers can’t afford decade-long development cycles anymore, so we’re leaning into open architectures, model-based design and rapid prototyping to keep pace with emerging threats.
This isn’t just about technology. It’s about reshaping business models and co-developing concepts of operations to deliver outcomes faster, at lower cost, while preparing warfighters to operate effectively in contested, multi-domain environments. Mission integration is our jam. We must move faster!
EBiz: What’s the most exciting technology right now that’s not AI?
Jackson: While AI rightly gets a lot of attention, I see digital engineering and mission engineering (using modeling/simulation) as one of the most transformative technologies today. It’s enabling us to virtually test, validate and optimize complex systems at scale before they’re built. I’ve seen our uses of mission engineering cutting years and millions out of programs. Combined with open digital threads, it connects design, sustainment and operations into a continuous lifecycle.
This not only accelerates delivery but allows rapid adaptation when threats shift. Within our national security ecosystem, that means the ability to iterate as fast as the threat evolves.
As Winston Churchill once said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” That captures the spirit of what mission engineering makes possible—continual adaptation at mission speed.
EBiz: What’s your take on the current talent pool? And if we’re in an overabundance of talent with limited opportunities, how is SAIC working to solve that?
Jackson: The talent market is shifting, there’s strong supply, but the real challenge is aligning skills to the mission’s evolving demands. At SAIC, we’re addressing that by rethinking how we develop and deploy talent. We’re investing in reskilling programs, apprenticeship pipelines and leadership development to make sure technical experts can grow into mission leaders.
We’re also creating new business models that flex talent across programs, allowing us to match people with opportunities faster. For me, if we invest in growth and agility, we not only strengthen our workforce but also ensure our customers get the innovation they need. There is always a desire to have good talent increase in their specialties, and we need specialists, but I think the largest need in the near term are people who can think critically and work with a team to solve complex challenges. I’ve seen that critical thinking ability makes the difference in a project’s success.
EBiz: How does SAIC ensure talent retention?
Jackson: I came to SAIC 23 years ago because we do cool and interesting work that makes a difference for our nation’s security. Retention starts with purpose. Our people want to know their work matters, and at SAIC, we connect every role directly to the mission—whether it’s supporting a warfighter, securing critical infrastructure or advancing citizen services.
Beyond mission impact, we invest in continuous learning, career mobility, and leadership development so employees see a path forward, not just a job. Finally, we listen. Through feedback loops and regular engagement, we adapt to what our workforce needs to be successful. If people don’t have a ‘why’ and if they don’t see how what they are doing contributes to the enterprise, frustration grows and they look elsewhere. We also should ask basic questions, like why do you stay? Why would you leave? What are you passionate about?
