Innovation & AI Specialist

Hi, I'm Sam Itman

I help large organizations modernize complex business operations through AI, enterprise technology, and digital transformation.

MS IT Admin & Security BS Information Technology DOD Secret Clearance Security+
Download Resume LinkedIn
Sam Itman professional photo
Organizations I've Worked With
Department of the Air Force - Warfighter USSF Logo Department of the Air Force CISA USSF S6 United States Space Force Optum - UnitedHealth Group KIPP New Jersey
What I Do

Areas of Expertise

Technology is the toolkit — business transformation is the profession. I work where strategy, stakeholders, and systems meet.

Enterprise Technology Strategy

I partner with executive leadership to set technology direction for large, complex organizations — identifying modernization opportunities, simplifying fragmented system landscapes, and aligning investments with mission outcomes.

AI-Enabled Transformation

I design and deliver AI-enabled solutions that change how organizations operate — focused on adoption and measurable mission impact, not technology for its own sake. Grounded in secure, compliant delivery for defense and critical infrastructure.

Business Process Modernization

I translate complex business rules and organizational processes into technical requirements, acting as the bridge between business leadership and engineering teams to redesign how work gets done at enterprise scale.

My Background

Resume

A snapshot of my professional experience, education, and technical skills.

Download Full Resume (PDF)
Experience
Innovation & AI Specialist | Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (SAF/MR)
Jul 2026 – Present
  • Partner with executive leadership to modernize a fragmented human capital technology ecosystem serving ~700,000 Airmen, Guardians, and their families — driving IT, analytics, and AI reform across the Department of the Air Force.
  • Support strategic oversight of the Department of the Air Force's human capital technology ecosystem — simplifying a fragmented technical landscape, making workforce data usable and actionable for the Total Force, and improving user experience through modern solutions.
  • Lead HR IT modernization initiatives, serving as the technical and business SME between HR professionals and engineering teams to redesign hiring, talent management, and HR service delivery.
IT Innovation Specialist | United States Space Force
Apr 2024 – Jul 2026
  • Led the push to digitize manual workforce processes across US Space Force Headquarters — recognized with the service-level Cyber Operations Functional Award for exceptional contributions to enterprise digital services.
  • Spearheaded the development of a new personnel management system, streamlining employee records tracking, onboarding and internal task management, improving data accuracy & visibility for 100+ personnel and saving 500+ man-hours annually.
  • Developed interactive dashboards providing Space Force leadership with real-time insights into personnel records, leave requests, and budget allocation, reducing processing time by >50% and saving 1,000+ man-hours annually.
  • Created the Space Force's first-ever automated training compliance system, resulting in an over 25% improvement in training compliance across all ~5,000 civilian guardians.
Systems Engineer | Innova Solutions
Jan – Apr 2024
  • Kept the systems behind the DoD's annual defense budget running — engineered and maintained mission-critical web servers and databases supporting cost assessment across every DoD agency, in support of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
  • Ensured 99.9% uptime for six information systems across classified and unclassified networks, providing uninterrupted access to critical resources for 300+ DOD users during the budgeting cycle.
  • Implemented proactive cybersecurity measures, including vulnerability scanning and configuration management, ensuring full compliance with DOD regulations and maintaining the Authority to Operate (ATO) for all systems.
Cyber Program Analyst | CISA
Jun – Sep 2022
  • Helped analysts assess threats to critical infrastructure faster — developed key API and UI components of "Phoenix," a DOD threat intelligence platform processing thousands of IOCs daily, contributing to a 70% reduction in threat research time.
  • Integrated APIs with leading threat intelligence providers (e.g., VirusTotal, DomainTools) to enrich IOC data and improve security assessment efficiency.
  • Developed UI components, including data ingestion dashboards and report generation features, to assist offensive security experts with their investigations.
  • Leveraged Docker, MongoDB, Postman, Python, and Vue.js to build and deploy scalable "Phoenix" platform components.
Software Engineer | Optum – UnitedHealth Group
Jun – Aug 2021
  • Rebuilt the costly legacy systems behind the storage and processing of critical healthcare provider data, cutting management time by >50% and saving over 1,200 hours annually.
  • Developed and deployed three production ReactJS web apps used by 200+ employees, integrating SSO, RBAC, GraphQL APIs, and AWS RDS for secure data handling.
  • Automated deployment pipelines using Docker, Jest, Sonar, Twistlock, AWS ECR & EKS, Helm, and Jenkins, improving security and reducing data processing time by >70%.
IT Technician | KIPP New Jersey
Jul – Sep 2020
  • Set up, configured, and tested hardware across 11 KIPP NJ sites supporting 8,500+ K-12 students, ensuring full operational readiness and adherence to organizational standards.
  • Resolved network and connectivity issues, maintaining 99.9% uptime and efficient network communication.
  • Managed vendor repair tickets and oversaw device repairs, reducing average repair time by two days.
  • Conducted on-site tech audits and managed asset inventories, ensuring accurate tracking and compliance.
Education
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Sep 2019 – Dec 2023
  • MS – IT Administration & Security  |  GPA: 4.0
  • BS – Information Technology  |  Minor: Business  |  GPA: 4.0
Class Rank: 1/1815 Summa Cum Laude NSF CyberCorps SFS Scholar
Technical Skills
Cloud & DevOps
AWS Google Cloud Docker Kubernetes Jenkins Helm RabbitMQ
Programming
Python Java JavaScript React Node.js Vue.js C# PHP SQL
Software & Automation
Power Apps Power Automate SharePoint .NET Power BI Postman
Databases
MySQL MongoDB SQL Server
Languages
English (Native) Russian (Intermediate) Spanish (Intermediate)