Ms. Johnson served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, Test and Engineering (DASN (RDT&E)) from August 2020 to January 2022. She was the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN(RD&A)), responsible for executive oversight of all matters related to RDT&E Budget Activities, Science and Engineering, Advanced Research and Development, Prototyping and Experimentation, and Test and Evaluation.

She was also responsible for oversight and stewardship of the Department of Navy Research and Development Establishment, which includes the naval laboratories, warfare centers and university affiliated research centers.

Ms. Johnson served as Executive Director for Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) from February 2016 to August 2020. As Executive Director and Director for Research & Engineering, Ms. Johnson was responsible for overall strategic and business planning / execution and business process efficiency necessary to satisfy business and financial objectives including budget development/execution with an annual operating budget of approximately $1.8B and a workforce of more than 6,000 civilians and 2,300 support contractors. Technical responsibilities encompassed the integration of personnel, processes, tools and facilities to meet demand for RDT&E and life cycle support of weapon systems programs workload; and technical oversight to both weapon systems and technology programs to preserve product integrity and ensure performance commitments.