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Jongsun A. Kim is a nonresident senior fellow in the Forward Defense initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Kim brings over two decades of experience across national security, defense innovation, and congressional strategy. She is the founder of JAK Strategies, LLC, an independent advisory practice, and also serves as an advisory board member at JerseySTEM, a nonprofit organization focused on STEM access and equity that partners with universities, corporations, and community-based youth organizations. Throughout her career, Kim has been at the forefront of bridging technology, policy, and governance to shape the future of US defense and intelligence capabilities.
Most recently, she was vice president for public policy at CHAOS Industries, a defense technology start-up, where she shaped cross-functional strategy and defense engagement—advancing international partnerships, shaping legislative proposals in the National Defense Authorization Act, and advancing thought leadership and policy initiatives on emerging technologies, acquisition reform, and asymmetric defense challenges.
Prior to her role in industry, she spent two decades in the federal government specializing in defense, most recently serving as the senior advisor and chief of staff to the US Department of Defense (DOD) chief technology officer, where she helped drive the DOD’s innovation agenda—crafting strategies for emerging technologies, modernizing governance structures, and aligning defense investments with long-term strategic priorities. In this role, she also worked across the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s nineteen business units as part of the Executive Leadership Team, advancing efforts to strengthen corporate culture and internal coordination.
Previously, Kim was the DOD deputy comptroller for budget and appropriations affairs, serving as the secretary of defense’s senior advisor on all matters related to appropriations and as the primary liaison between DOD leadership and the congressional appropriations committees. Before that, she served as a professional staff member on the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), where she oversaw tens of billions of dollars in classified funding and led oversight of the Defense Intelligence Enterprise. Also, as the lead Indo-Pacific policy advisor for the SSCI and to Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-VA), she operated at the intersection of national security and emerging technology, spearheading the Intelligence Community’s engagement with the private sector on foreign economic, technological, and security challenges. She previously served as the chief national security advisor and intelligence designee to Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD ret.), Ranking Member of the US Senate Committee on Appropriations.
Earlier in her career, Kim served in policy roles within the Pentagon and the Defense Intelligence Agency, deploying to Afghanistan in support of combat operations, serving in the White House Situation Room, and managing the US–South Korea alliance. She began her government service as a Defense Intelligence Scholar.
Before entering federal service, Kim worked on domestic policy as an analyst at Abt Associates and as a governor’s aide in New Jersey. She holds master’s degrees from Harvard University and the National Defense Intelligence College and earned her BA from Wellesley College. She also studied at the University of Edinburgh and Korea University.