Col Paul K. Harmer is the Deputy Director of Engineering and Technical Management, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In this capacity he assists in leading the force development, training, processes, procedures, and tool deployment for 14,000 military and civilian scientists, technicians, and engineers who ensure the technical rigor of weapons system programs totaling $60 billion. Additionally, Col Harmer drives digital engineering and weapons system cyber initiatives across the enterprise.

Col Harmer has served the Air Force and Joint warfighting community in a broad array of air, space, and cyberspace assignments. Col Harmer entered the Air Force in 1996 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program. His first assignment was as an engineering officer overseeing upgrades to America’s space launch capabilities at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. and Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. Subsequently, Col Harmer applied supercomputing power to synthetic aperture radar processing at the Air Force Research Laboratory. Upon graduation from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Col Harmer led weapons integration and electronic warfare testing of the B-1B, B-2A, and B-52H aircraft. He then applied this experience to the joint electronic warfare community, first as the electronic warfare and cyber Red Team lead for the Undersecretary of Defense (AS&C) and later as a technical lead developing requirements for the Vice-Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff directed electronic warfare capabilities-based assessment. Next, Colonel Harmer led the development of advanced cyber capabilities for US Cyber Command. Prior to his current assignment, Col Harmer was the Commander of the 57th Intelligence Squadron where he led the production of intelligence mission data to ensure that the nation’s air component can detect and defeat the latest adversary anti-aircraft systems around the globe. Col Harmer has flown over 35 aircraft types including F-15D/E, F-16B/D, T-38A/C, B-17G, B-52H, and KC-135R.

EDUCATION
1996 Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, California State University Long Beach
1996 Distinguished Graduate Air Force ROTC, Loyola Marymount University, Calif.
2000 Master of Science in Computer Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 2000 Distinguished Graduate, Air Force Institute of Technology, Ohio
2002 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2004 US Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, Calif.
2006 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2013 Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2014 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.