For six months, these acquisition professionals work inside Merge Combinator alongside 80+ companies building against real national security problems.
By embedding acquisition professionals in this environment, the Army is creating tighter feedback loops between builders, operators, and the acquisition system itself. That means better-informed decisions, earlier identification of real transition opportunities, and a clearer understanding of what's working.
This is both a professional development opportunity and a practical test of how the Army can deliver outcomes faster and reduce friction between program intent and mission need.
Capability Decision Lead
A contracting and program management leader with sixteen years in government service, Camillia currently serves as Business Lead for the Army's $2 billion Middle Tier Acquisition rapid fielding effort for Long Range Hypersonic capability. Her background spans M-SHORAD, next-generation interceptor development, congressional budget defense, and weapons-system contracting across high-priority Army programs.
Mission Portfolio Lead
An Army finance veteran and acquisition professional, Kristen has spent nearly two decades across Army budgeting, resource planning, and program execution. At Merge she brings a fiscal lens to capability transition, helping teams understand color-of-money strategy, SBIR cadence, POM positioning, and the funding realities that determine whether a capability moves forward.
Transition Acceleration Lead
Pete works at the intersection of medical countermeasure development, acquisition program management, and market intelligence. His career spans biodefense, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Battelle, the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate, the Defense Logistics Agency, and federal acquisition roles focused on performance metrics, data analysis, and industry engagement.
AI Deployment Lead
Dr. Sharma is an AI/ML professional with more than eight years of experience in applied research and deployment across multi-agent learning, reinforcement learning, generative AI, evaluation, Responsible AI, and scalable machine learning systems. He is currently on developmental assignment as an AI Strategist with Merge Combinator and holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics.
The inaugural cohort includes acquisition professionals from CPE CBRND, CPE Ground, U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal, and the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command.
By Pete Harlan. The Army is restructuring acquisition around software velocity and operational feedback loops.
Embedding acquisition professionals inside industry for six months.
Real-time AI translation over tactical radios. Allied sensors feeding a shared COP.
Whether you want to meet our residents, explore becoming one, or sponsor professionals from your organization into the program.
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