With decades of experience transforming software delivery across the Navy, Rick joins BrainGu to expand impact at the tactical edge.
Grand Rapids, Michigan – Sep 4, 2025 – BrainGu, a mission-first software company delivering secure, scalable solutions for national security, is honored to welcome Richard “Rick” Jack as Technical Director, where he will focus on driving innovation in partnership with the U.S. Navy and broader defense community.
A distinguished C4ISR software engineer and former technical lead of the Navy’s Project Overmatch, Rick brings more than two decades of hands-on experience reimagining how the Department of the Navy develops, tests, and fields operational software. As the architect behind the Overmatch Software Armory and the Application Arsenal, he helped pioneer the Navy’s first enterprise DevSecOps pipeline, replacing manual software installs with over-the-air updates across the fleet.
Rick built core technical scaffolding for the Navy while championing speed and mission-first delivery. Combined with BrainGu’s DevSecOps, product-led platform approach, he’ll help us turn those practices into repeatable, scalable outcomes for the DoD,
said John “Spence” Spencer-Taylor, CEO of BrainGu.
Throughout his career at NIWC Pacific, Rick has led high-impact efforts across cloud infrastructure, model-based engineering, DevSecOps adoption, and software delivery to disadvantaged, distributed, and intermittently connected (DDIL) environments. His work helped lay the foundation for rapid application development pipelines, enabling the fleet to download and deploy apps on-demand, drastically reducing time-to-capability for afloat systems.
At BrainGu, Rick will serve as a cross-cutting technical leader across programs, working closely with platform, delivery, and product teams to ensure alignment between emerging defense needs and BrainGu’s capabilities, particularly those powered by the SmoothGlue ecosystem and WIDOW mission apps.
Rick’s arrival strengthens BrainGu’s already deep connection to the U.S. Navy. From delivering collaborative mission planning through WIDOW to enabling secure DevSecOps pipelines in air-gapped and classified environments via SmoothGlue, BrainGu has consistently delivered outcomes that align with the Navy’s strategic priorities: speed, survivability, and interoperability.
Rick embodies what it means to build with and for the operator,
said Matt Shaver, CTO of BrainGu.
His experience aligns directly with BrainGu’s mission to shorten the distance between vision and delivery. His perspective will help us ensure that innovation stays grounded in real-world impact.
Rick Jack’s appointment reflects BrainGu’s continued investment in the national security ecosystem—not just as a technology vendor, but as a mission partner. By integrating engineering excellence with operational urgency, BrainGu is building the platforms, tools, and culture needed to modernize how software supports the fight.
BrainGu is a technology company focused on building platforms that empower developers and accelerate secure software delivery in complex, contested, and highly regulated environments. Our DevSecOps-first approach and modular ecosystem streamline the path from prototype to production—whether in the cloud, at the edge, or within air-gapped systems.
For more information, visit braingu.com.
BrainGu Appoints Rachel O'Donnell as Vice President of Mission Systems Group
With deep defense expertise and a track record of translating vision into real-world impact, O'Donnell will lead the group’s next chapter of mission-driven delivery.
BrainGu Promotes Jamil Jadallah to Vice President of Product
Jamil's experience building scalable platforms, combined with his clear focus on the developer journey, makes him the perfect leader to advance our vision for a product-led future and to drive the next era of growth.
Empowering our users with more tools at their disposal...
Our customer’s missions are growing in complexity each day, and we continuously evaluate and add new tools to our platform to meet those customer’s needs.