Dr. Josh Harguess is the Chief Technology Officer of Fire Mountain Labs. He leads the company’s technical strategy to advance safe and assured AI. Under his direction, Fire Mountain Labs provides expert advisory services to enterprise and government clients. He ensures that organizations navigate the complex landscape of AI adoption with security, integrity, and accountability.

Josh holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and brings deep technical and operational expertise to the executive team. He is a prolific researcher with over 65 publications, 6 patents, and three best paper awards. His background spans critical leadership roles at Cranium AI, MITRE Labs, Shield AI, and the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific. This experience allows him to bridge the gap between theoretical machine learning and the practical realities of national security and enterprise needs.

As a trusted voice in the AI ecosystem, Josh frequently shares his insights through podcasts, industry articles, panels, and presentations. He operates as a bridge between government, industry, and academia. He actively shapes the scientific community as the founder of the Naval Applications of Machine Learning workshop and the SPIE DCS conference on Assurance and Security for AI-enabled Systems. He also serves as an Associate Editor for major journals and holds chair positions for IEEE and SPIE conferences.

Before joining Fire Mountain Labs, Josh held senior leadership roles where he defined industry standards in AI security. He served as the first Chief of AI Security at Cranium AI and led the AI Red Team at MITRE. His work has contributed directly to foundational frameworks like MITRE ATLAS and the NIST AI RMF. He now champions pragmatic and secure strategies that serve the public good and strengthen organizational resilience.