Sarah Hiza is the Vice President and General Manager of the Strategic and Missile Defense line of business at Lockheed Martin Space, and she also serves on the Board of Directors for Lockheed Martin U.K. Strategic Systems, Ltd. In these roles, she is responsible for a broad portfolio of programs in strategic deterrence, missile defense, directed energy and hypersonic strike. With over 5,500 employees across 18 U.S. and U.K. sites, this line of business supports both the U.S. Department of Defense and U.K. Ministry of Defence.

Sarah brings tenacity, ownership, and people-focused leadership in the defense industry with a focus on execution excellence, customer partnerships, and risk management in high-risk operations across developmental, low-rate production programs to highly mature, complex programs for defense systems. With strong and effective communication skills, she is highly effective in building teams that value inter-team camaraderie, as well as cross-functional relationships and collaboration around an organization’s cadence and vision. 

Since joining Lockheed Martin in 2015, Sarah has held several roles of increasing responsibility. Previously, she served as Vice President of the Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) programs as well as the Director for Propulsion, Structures, Ordnance & Controls. Before joining Lockheed Martin, she worked at ATK (now Northrop Grumman) for 11 years. 

Sarah’s technical expertise includes work in polymers and energetic materials, including explosives and rocket propellants, chemistry and missile hardware/subsystems. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and a doctorate degree in polymer science from The University of Akron. She has one patent, has authored eight national publications and has been highlighted in national media. 

Recognition of her contributions includes a 2021 Spark Award from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and a 2016 honoree of Silicon Valley’s YWCA’s Tribute to Women Award. She also received a 2011 Technology Innovator Award from the Women Tech Council. 

Sarah has a passion for cultivating an inclusive work environment, which has led her to actively engage in outreach activities such as mentoring STEM students and aerospace & defense professionals, as well as serving as Lockheed Martin Space’s Inclusion Council Executive Sponsor. A strong advocate for developing the next generation of leaders, Sarah also serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Outside of the office, Sarah enjoys hiking, backpacking, skiing, photography, amateur astronomy, traveling and spending time with family and friends.