Colonel Josiah Pickett
AI Incubator Director, U.S. Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center (AI2C)
COL Josiah Pickett serves as the Director of the AI Incubator, AI2C’s innovation engine responsible for developing, testing, and delivering emerging AI capabilities to the Army. He leads the portfolio of incubator projects, guides cross-functional development teams, and accelerates the transition of innovative solutions from concept to operational impact.
A native of Washington State, COL Pickett commissioned through ROTC with a degree in mathematics from Central Washington University and later earned a Masters degree in applied mathematics from the Naval Postgraduate School.
He began his career in the Aviation Branch, serving in multiple leadership roles including platoon leader, company commander, battalion S4, and assistant S3, and is a graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School. After transitioning to the Operations Research career field, COL Pickett served as a course director in the Advanced Mathematics Program at West Point, as the Assessments Chief for Resolute Support Headquarters in Kabul, and as a senior analyst at TRAC White Sands Missile Range. He later held several key data science leadership roles within the NETCOM Data Science Directorate.
His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), Air Medal, Joint Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Citation, Afghan Campaign Medal, ISAF NATO Medal, Army Aviator Badge, Combat Action Badge, and Parachutist Badge. As AI Incubator Director, COL Pickett brings deep analytical expertise and operational oversight to drive rapid experimentation, guide data-science teams, and deliver AI capabilities that advance Army readiness and modernization.