MICRO JOURNEYS PODCAST
About Dan Marrujo
Daniel Marrujo is a former Chief Strategy Officer and former Director of the Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) at the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA).
Mr. Marrujo began his career at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ., developing missile guidance systems for their advanced programs. He then moved to DMEA, in his hometown of Sacramento, CA., working for the Trusted Integrated Circuit (IC) program office. In conjunction with working on the Trusted IC program, he began working towards the development of DMEA’s reliability capabilities and was selected to lead the National High Reliability Electronics Virtual Center (HiREV).
Mr. Marrujo also established the NRO’s VS&E program which has executed a number of solutions protecting National Security. As a subject matter expert, he has provided his technical expertise in multiple DARPA, IARPA and National Security Space programs. His focus areas are Microelectronics Obsolescence, State of the Art Microelectronics Acquisition, State of the Practice Microelectronics Sustainment, Advanced Packaging, Supply Chain Risk Management, Semiconductor Reliability, Semiconductor Reverse Engineering and Semiconductor Radiation Effects.
In 2016, Mr. Marrujo was selected as DMEA’s Chief Strategy Officer, directly supporting the DMEA directorate. In this position, Mr. Marrujo works with DMEA senior leadership to define and represent the integrated DMEA message and strategic path forward for future engagements.
Latest Episodes
In this episode of Micro Journeys, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with Dr. Mark Lewis for a sweeping conversation that traces the arc of a career spanning academia, the Pentagon, and now applied national security research. From serving as Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force to leading modernization efforts in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Lewis reflects on the pivotal moments that reshaped his trajectory, including America’s struggle to maintain technological superiority in hypersonics, artificial intelligence, and microelectronics. His journey reveals what happens when innovation stalls, competitors accelerate, and leadership must step in to reset the course.
At the heart of the discussion is a sobering reality: the United States pioneered many of the technologies now reshaping modern warfare, from hypersonics to AI, yet allowed its edge to erode. Lewis details how underinvestment, aging test infrastructure, outdated microelectronics strategies, and manufacturing complacency created gaps that peer competitors exploited. He unpacks the internal cultural, structural, and technical challenges inside the Department of Defense, from bridging operators and technologists to confronting the limits of “trusted foundry” models and the hype surrounding artificial intelligence.
The solution, Lewis argues, lies in disciplined reinvestment: rebuilding test infrastructure, returning to the commercial technology curve, modernizing manufacturing, and empowering leaders who make their teams successful. Technological dominance is not inherited, it is sustained through deliberate action.
Rory McInerney’s journey mirrors the rise of modern computing itself. From growing up in Ireland to becoming a senior leader at Intel during some of the most transformative decades in semiconductor history, Rory shares how curiosity, risk-taking, and timing shaped a 30-year career at the center of global technology. Along the way, he reflects on immigration, innovation, and what it truly means to build something that lasts.
In this episode, Rory dives deeper into the evolution of semiconductors—from memory chips and personal computers to data centers, cloud computing, and today’s AI-driven world. He offers an insider’s perspective on Intel’s growth, the challenges of scaling advanced manufacturing, and why semiconductor supply chains have become a matter of national security.
Ultimately, Rory’s story highlights a core lesson: meaningful technological progress is rarely driven by a single breakthrough, but by decades of persistence, collaboration, and the willingness to confront hard constraints head-on.
In this episode of Micro Journeys, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with David Harris to explore how endurance, curiosity, and systems-level thinking shaped a career that spans elite athletics, financial regulation, global markets, and emerging technology. From an unlikely start as a walk-on collegiate runner to leadership roles inside the SEC, NASDAQ, and the London Stock Exchange Group, Harris shares how persistence—and knowing when to adapt—became a recurring theme throughout his life.
The conversation dives deeper into Harris’s evolution from market structure and electronic trading into blockchain, data governance, and ultimately the founding of Manetu. As AI, automation, and data sharing accelerate, Harris unpacks a growing problem: sensitive data is being shared, copied, and used in ways that neither individuals nor organizations can fully see or control—especially as agentic AI systems begin making decisions on their behalf.
At its core, this episode presents a solution rooted in trust and control: treating data as a granular, permissioned asset, shared only when needed, for a specific purpose, and withdrawn when that purpose ends, so people, companies, and governments can safely operate in an increasingly automated world.
