Dr. Bill Hoeft

Dr. William “Bill” Hoeft serves as Senior Fellow at Systems Planning & Analysis (SPA), where he coordinates and oversees the company’s Fellows Program and helps guide the technical rigor and strategic impact of SPA’s analytic work. In his role as SPA’s Maritime and Undersea Fellow, he ensures the undersea portfolio remains technically sound, objective, tightly integrated, and forward-looking across the evolving maritime security environment.

Dr. Hoeft joined SPA after retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2004 as a Captain following 24 years of service as a submarine officer. Since joining SPA, he has supported the full breadth of the undersea enterprise, providing expertise on future submarine platform options, procurement planning, unmanned undersea vehicles, weapons innovation, and emerging operational concepts for undersea warfare.

During his naval career, Dr. Hoeft served aboard four attack submarines and commanded USS Salt Lake City (SSN-716). Across 11 operational deployments, including two in command, he operated in every major ocean region and against a wide range of maritime adversaries. His operational assignments provided extensive experience in submarine warfare, fleet operations, and the strategic employment of undersea forces.

Ashore, Dr. Hoeft served in several senior staff assignments, including tours on the Joint Staff and at United States European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. As a Moreau Scholar, he earned a doctorate in international relations from Georgetown University. He also served three years as Executive Assistant to the Director of Undersea Warfare on the Chief of Naval Operations’ staff at the Pentagon.

Today, Dr. Hoeft helps ensure SPA’s growing undersea analytical capabilities continue to evolve alongside the strategic importance of the undersea domain, providing mission-focused analysis that informs decisions across the U.S. Navy and broader national security community