Bio

Omar Pimentel specializes in the intersection of commercial space, national security, and emerging technology markets. He currently serves as the Policy and Strategy Lead and Program Manager for the Defense Innovation Unit’s Space Portfolio, where he helps lead efforts to align the Department of War with the rapidly evolving commercial space sector and supports the execution of strategically significant dual-use programs.

At DIU, Omar works across a portfolio spanning responsive space, orbital return, global sensing and monitoring capabilities, advanced adaptive manufacturing, and AI-enabled space applications. He supports the execution of high-priority efforts, helps shape acquisition and funding approaches, and works closely with program managers, senior government stakeholders, and commercial partners to move promising technologies from concept toward operational adoption.

Omar’s work has given him a front-row seat to the companies, founders, and technologies most likely to define the next generation of defense and space markets. Through direct engagement with startups, investors, and established aerospace firms, he has developed a strong instinct for what differentiates venture-scale and strategically important businesses: technical credibility, timing, customer alignment, capital efficiency, and the ability to convert innovation into real market and mission adoption. He brings a differentiated perspective on where private capital, government demand, and national security priorities intersect and where enduring value is most likely to be created.

Prior to DIU, Omar served at NASA Headquarters’ Office of Technology Policy and Strategy and in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he advised on matters related to higher education, armed services, foreign affairs, and appropriations. His background across government, policy, and innovation gives him a unique perspective into how new technologies move from idea to institutionally backed capability.

Omar received his Master’s degree in International Policy from Stanford University, where he led research on multi-domain nuclear deterrence and the politics of space and semiconductors at the Hoover Institution. He was an inaugural Defense Innovation Scholar at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.

He holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Florida State University, and in his free time, Omar enjoys golfing, Florida State football, cooking Dominican food, and reading everything related to space and history.