Ms. Amber Stein is a member of the Senior Executive Service and serves as the Assistant Commandant and Program Executive Officer for Surface and Chief Engineer (Naval). In this position, she is responsible for providing management oversight of Coast Guard acquisition and sustainment programs and projects for the modernization, recapitalization, and support of all surface assets in support of the Coast Guard's multiple maritime missions.
Before joining the Coast Guard in October 2023, Ms. Stein was a senior acquisition professional with the U.S. Navy with responsibilities for managing shipbuilding production, budget policy and procedure, acquisition and strategic planning, and ship and weapon system testing. In her most recent position, she served as the Deputy Program Manager for the DDG 51 Shipbuilding Program, a major defense acquisition program representing an investment of more than $75 billion, and led all technical, contractual, production, logistical, testing, and budgetary efforts for the construction of new DDG 51 Flight IIA and Flight III destroyers.
Her career with the U.S. Navy includes more than 20 years of acquisition experience across research and development, test and evaluation, and development of major shipbuilding and weapon systems programs. Throughout her career, she has held a range of significant leadership positions and has been recognized for her efforts to translate strategic vision into concrete action, discover inefficiencies and take action to deliver critical national defense assets on time.
Ms. Stein is a native of Hickory, North Carolina, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from George Washington University. Ms. Stein is a member of the Acquisition Professional Community and has a Senior-Level Certification in Program and Project Management and a Level III Certification in Test and Evaluation. Ms. Stein is a recipient of two Navy Superior Civilian Service Awards, the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award, was recognized by the Office of the Secretary of Defense with the Acquisition Workforce Award for Workforce Development Innovation in 2023, the National Defense Industrial Association as Navy Civilian Tester of the Year in 2012, and the National Society of Professional Engineers with the Federal Engineer of the Year Award in 2006.