Dr. Martin Irvine, Jr. serves as the Executive Director for Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) and Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), both Echelon III commands within Naval Sea Systems Command. In this role, Dr. Irvine is responsible for leading more than 29,000 civilian scientists, engineers, technicians, and support personnel within ten divisions located across the country to perform research, development, test, and evaluation for the future Navy, and to provide in-service engineering and logistics support for the operating fleet.

Prior to assuming his current position, Dr. Irvine was the Executive Director, Submarine Forces, where he was the principal advisor to the Submarine Force Commander on all matters relating to Strategic Deterrence and Undersea Warfare programs and requirements. His responsibilities included the prioritization of future Submarine Force capabilities and the development of strategy, undersea technology adoption and the implementation of unmanned systems in the undersea.

Dr. Irvine was selected for appointment into the Senior Executive Service in July 2019. He has 25 years of experience as a civil servant for the U.S. Navy.

From 2019 to 2021, Dr. Irvine was the Technical Director of NUWC Division, Keyport in Keyport, Washington. His duties included the oversight of Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E), in-service engineering, maintenance and repair, fleet support and industrial base support for undersea warfare systems, countermeasures, and sonar systems. He directed NUWC Division, Keyport operations at a number of remote facilities located throughout the United States and overseas.

Dr. Irvine held the positions of a Senior Scientific Technical Manager (SSTM) and the head of the Readiness & Training Systems Department for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division Dam Neck in Virginia Beach, Virginia, from 2014 to 2019. Dr. Irvine led a $300M organization of 600 personnel supporting U.S. Navy combat systems, integrated training systems, cybersecurity, rapid prototyping, and systems safety engineering.

From 2016 to 2018, Dr. Irvine served a two-year assignment as the SSTM Director of Systems Engineering, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for RDT&E. In this role, he developed and implemented appropriate technical standards and policies to direct systems engineering functions for naval acquisition.

From 2011 to 2014, Dr. Irvine held two Office of Naval Research Science Advisor positions. The first was for Commander of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (COMNECC) in Virginia Beach, Virginia, from 2011-2013, and then from 2013-2014 for Commander, Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR) in Norfolk, Virginia. In these roles, he served as the Commander’s advisor on Science & Technology, as well as acting as the Chief of Naval Research’s liaison between the research enterprise and the fleet.

From 2006 to 2007, Dr. Irvine was a research faculty member at the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Dr. Irvine’s research focused on fluid dynamics for undersea warfare applications. He was a member of the Civil Engineering Department Graduate Faculty.

Dr. Irvine started his career in 1997 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division in West Bethesda, Maryland. From 1997 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2011, Dr. Irvine served as Division Head, Hydrodynamics Subject Matter Expert, and Research Engineer for research, experimentation, computational simulations, design, and acquisition for Navy ships and submarines, combatant craft and advanced hull forms.

Dr. Irvine holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa, as well as Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellows Program. He holds Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certifications in four career fields and is a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps.

Dr. Irvine has received many awards for his performance, including the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award for his service to Commander, Submarine Forces in 2023, the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award for his service to COMNECC in 2014, and the 2015 Warfare Center Collaboration Award for service as a member of the cross-Warfare Center Unmanned Vehicles and Autonomous Systems Working Group.