Karman Space & Defense (NYSE: KRMN) appointed Stefan Knighton as Chief Information and Artificial Intelligence Officer, effective June 1. The newly created position combines traditional IT leadership with artificial intelligence strategy oversight at the space and defense contractor.

Knighton will lead IT strategy and operations while directing the company's AI governance, tool evaluation, and implementation decisions. He will oversee the Business Systems organization and continue deployment of the Karman Operating System across company facilities.

The executive brings two decades of experience from previous roles at Kyndryl, Lockheed Martin, and Fujifilm. Most recently, he led Enterprise Transformation initiatives at Kyndryl, an IT infrastructure services provider. He previously served as Vice President, CIO and Digital Transformation Executive for Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control division.

"The CIAIO role underscores Karman's view that technology infrastructure and AI strategy are tightly linked," said Chief Executive Officer Jon Rambeau in a company statement.

Karman also announced a partnership with Growth Signals, a generative AI platform founded by Carnegie Mellon professor Sean Ammirati. The platform is designed to help enterprises accelerate innovation and translate technology insights into business strategy.

Based in Huntington Beach, California, Karman develops system solutions for space and defense applications, serving more than 80 prime contractors across 130 programs. The company operates multiple facilities across the United States and has nearly 50 years of operational history in the sector.