Dianne M. Costlow (SES) serves as the Technical Director of Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Corona Division, the command's most senior civilian position. She provides technical leadership for more than 4,000 Navy civilians, sailors, and support contractors that carry out NSWC Corona's mission “to provide transparency to warfighting readiness through data analytics and assessment, engineering the Fleet's Live-Virtual[1]Constructive training environment, and assuring the accuracy of measurements.”
Costlow champions advanced data analytics capability initiatives for the Navy, including the Ship Maintenance Data Improvement Initiative (SMDII), which expands data-driven decision making and predictive measures to improve ship capability and availability; and development of the Navy's data science and analytics competency. In addition, Costlow leads the sustainment of the command's culture of diversity. Her efforts have resulted in several awards and achievements for the command, including the Society of Women Engineers' Rodney D. Chipp National Award in 2018 for its commitment to recruiting and advancing women engineers. Costlow also serves as the NAVSEA Enterprise Recruiting Champion.
Costlow launched her technical career at NSWC Corona in 1985, assessing component production test systems of the Quickstrike Mine and Standard Missile. In 1991, she transferred to the Quality Assessment Department to implement the Fleet Troubled Systems Process; and in 1997, she was promoted to Chief Engineer of the Measurement Science Department. Costlow's management career began in 1999, when she was promoted to Material Readiness Division Manager, providing readiness metrics to program managers and Fleet representatives on combat system reliability, maintainability and availability. In 2001, she transferred to the Performance Assessment Department, leading NSWC Corona's Nimitz Battle Group combat system integration and interoperability analysis team efforts, resulting in Nimitz BG meeting an accelerated deployment schedule with multiple new combat system capabilities.
In 2005, Costlow was promoted to Department Head of the Range Systems Engineering Department, becoming the first female department head at NSWC Corona. In 2007, she was assigned to lead the Quality Assessment Department. In 2010, Costlow was selected as Deputy Technical Director; and in 2017, she was selected as Technical Director, joining the Senior Executive Service on April 2, 2017.
Costlow graduated with a BS in industrial engineering from Kansas State University in 1985 and earned her MS degree in quality assurance from California State University in 1995. She received a general management certificate from the University of Texas in 2007. She is Level III-certified in the Navy Acquisition Professional Community in engineering, a trained facilitator of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.