Dr. Jose Latimer, Ph.D. 2004

Jose R. Latimer, Ph.D. 2004, is the Deputy Chief Quality Officer, and former Chief Engineer of the Asymmetric Operations Sector at The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Prior to this, he served as the Mission Area Executive for Homeland Protection for 14 years, where he was responsible for planning, staffing, strategic focus, and execution of APL programs in support of Homeland Security missions. Earlier in his career, he also served as the Assistant Department Head for Enterprise Programs in the Strategic Systems Department at APL, focusing on programs and resources supporting Undersea Warfare, Counter Proliferation, and Biomedicine Mission Areas. Moreover, he developed and implemented program strategies, conducted research and resource planning, and oversaw the execution of programs across a range of Laboratory sponsors. 

Latimer has been with APL close to 45 years, leading efforts assisting government agencies responsible for the development and implementation of technology-based safeguards with the necessary capability to protect the United States against a variety of asymmetric threats. 

Since joining the Laboratory 1980, Latimer has held numerous technical lead positions, including managing the development and implementation of the analysis methodology for performance evaluations of the Navy's Trident II system and as the Chief Scientist for the Unmanned Undersea Vehicle program. As the nation’s largest University Affiliated Research Center, APL performs research and development on behalf of the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies. The Laboratory has more than 8,500 staff members who are making critical contributions to a wide variety of nationally and globally significant technical and scientific challenges. 

From 1997 to 2003, Latimer served as Supervisor of the Systems Development and Operational Support Group, and subsequently the Head of the Instrumentation Systems Development Branch. In this role, he provided technical and administrative oversight to ensure resources were employed effectively throughout dynamic, interdisciplinary system development projects in support of the Range Instrumentation, the Ocean Engineering, and the Ocean Data Acquisition programs. He also executed projects across a range of navigation and special sensor instrumentation development efforts that included the deployment of significant technical capabilities for the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence. 

Latimer earned a Bachelor of Engineering in electrical engineering from Villanova University, dual Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from The Catholic University of America.