Jay Tilden, NNSA Assoc. Admin. and Dep. Undersec. for Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation

Since 2016, Jay Tilden has served as NNSA's Associate Administrator for Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation with responsibility in preparing for, responding to, and successfully resolving nuclear and radiological accidents and incidents worldwide.

The mission includes providing technically informed policy and operational recommendations required to advance U.S. nuclear counterterrorism and counterproliferation objectives, while informing U.S. government agencies on nuclear threat devices (i.e., improvised nuclear devices, proliferant devices, and lost or stolen nuclear devices outside of state control). The office applies the Department of Energy's (DOE) and NNSA’s existing nuclear expertise, science, technology, and engineering capabilities to support relevant whole-of-government activities, while sustaining deployable assets for both nuclear incident response and nuclear forensics activities. Previously, Mr. Tilden served as the Deputy Associate Administrator of the same office.

From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Tilden served as the Director of the Office of Nuclear Threat Science (formerly the Office of Nuclear Counterterrorism), leading an integrated technical staff of Federal, contractor, and National Laboratory personnel that executed the multi-laboratory Nuclear Counterterrorism Program, charged with the evaluation of a wide range of nuclear threat devices, including improvised nuclear device concepts and designs.

Before that, Mr. Tilden served as the Intelligence and Security Advisor to the Deputy Under Secretary for Counterterrorism and NNSA's Office of Nuclear Counterterrorism. From 2004 to 2008, he was Director of the Counterterrorism Division of DOE's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, which was responsible for providing technical intelligence analysis on: terrorist radiological and nuclear capabilities; potential terrorist threats to nuclear facilities, materials, and activities; and worldwide nuclear materials holdings and their security. He also served as an Intelligence and Program Analyst for the Office of Security Policy advising on Design Basis Threat policies for DOE.

Mr. Tilden is a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer (counterintelligence and all-source intelligence) and served in both active and reserve capacities including the Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom/Noble Eagle operations.

He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1990 and completed post-graduate studies in strategic intelligence from DIA’s Joint Military Intelligence College in 1999.