Rebecca Schmidt, International Operations

Rebecca “Z” Schmidt is a distinguished leader in missile systems development, defense innovation, and international test collaboration, with more than 25 years of experience advancing U.S. and Allied capabilities through complex test and evaluation (T&E) and multinational partnerships. As Director for International Operations and Test at Iron Will Ventures, Inc., she supports key Office of Secretary of War initiatives to strengthen global T&E collaboration, including bilateral test leadership for Strategic Capabilities Office efforts and for the Navy and TRMC in support of the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program. A senior engineering and strategy executive, she has served as Mission Director and project lead for more than 35 U.S. and multinational flight tests. Previously, at the Missile Defense Agency, she served as the Sea-Based Terminal Test Lead and Mission Director, advancing U.S.–Australian missile-defense operational and testing cooperation through her leadership and technical direction. Her earlier industry experience includes serving as Senior Professional Staff at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as an Aegis BMD flight testing lead and SM-3 development / Modeling and Simulation lead, and a Weapons Systems Engineer at Technology Service Corporation. Rebecca received the prestigious Australian Defence Force (ADF) Vice Chief of Defence Force (VCDF) Gold Commendation for her “personal vision, leadership, technical expertise, cross-domain and cross-nation collaboration, and for her mentorship of Australian Defence Force and Australian industry teams, directly contributing to repeated joint mission successes and strengthening long-term U.S.–Australian missile-defense collaboration. “Z” has also earned multiple “Tester of the Year” awards and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Excellence Awards for her technical rigor and mission leadership. Known for integrating deep technical expertise with strategic vision, she excels at uniting military, government, and industry partners to deliver operationally meaningful defense capabilities on the global stage.