Mr. Holthe was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in April 2020 and currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology. In this role, Mr. Holthe serves as a top advisor to the Department of Defense (DoD) with oversight and advocacy for the S&T enterprise including workforce and laboratory infrastructure policy, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and University-Affiliated Research Centers.  Mr. Holthe also serves as DoD senior expert on Nuclear Delivery System modernization.

Previously, Mr. Holthe served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Enabling Technology in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies where he served as a senior expert, consultant, manager, and principal advisor to ASD (CT) and USD (R&E) on Nuclear Modernization and the Critical Technology Areas of Advanced Computing and Software, Directed Energy, Human Machine Interface, Hypersonics, Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems, Integrated Sensing and Cyber, Microelectronics, Renewable Energy Generation and Storage, Space Technology, and Trusted Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy.

Additionally, Mr. Holthe served as the  OUSD R&E Director for Emerging Technologies and Platforms and Weapons Technologies where he served as a top advisor to the Department of Defense (DoD) in future platform and weapon technology areas including Munitions, Human Systems, Quantum Science, Biotechnology, Future Generation Wireless, and Advanced Materials, and both manned and unmanned system technologies across all domains.

Prior to joining OUSD R&E, Mr. Holthe served as the Director for Lethality Portfolio in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research and Technology). In this role, Mr. Holthe was responsible for strategy, supervision and oversight of all long range precision fires and air and missile defense Army S&T efforts, including energetics, propulsion, and warheads for increased range and decisive effects, guidance and seekers for improved precision in GPS denied or degraded environments,  both Kinetic and Directed Energy Weapons for affordable air defense, , and soldier weapon technologies to enable overmatch by Army forces against any enemy. In 2016, Mr. Holthe was assigned as the Acting Tier I SES Director for Technology and Deputy to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research and Technology), responsible for development, evaluation, and oversight for the Army's 6.1 (Basic Research), 6.2 (Applied Research), 6.3 (Advanced Technology Development), 6.4 (Technology Maturation Initiative), and 6.7 (Manufacturing Technology) Budget Activities of the Army's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) program.

Mr. Holthe received a B.A. in Sport Science with an emphasis in Sports Medicine from Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1995 and an M.S. in Exercise Science (Biomechanics) from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, in 1999. Mr. Holthe completed the Advanced Acquisition Program at the Naval Postgraduate School in 2003. He graduated from the Competitive Development Group/Army Acquisition Fellowship Program in 2014. During his fellowship, he served as Assistant Product Manager and Lead Systems Integrator at PEO Soldier, as the Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center Liaison Officer in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research and Technology), and as a Budget Analyst for Missile Procurement and RDT&E in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller)/Army Budget Office.

Mr. Holthe became a member of the Army Acquisition Corps in 2006 and is a 2018 graduate of the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Executive Institute Leadership for a Democratic Society program. During his career, Mr. Holthe has been awarded an Achievement Medal for Civilian Service, two Commander’s Awards for Civilian Service, an Army Superior Unit Award, and the Order of Saint Maurice – Civis Level.