  We study the jet quenching parameter $\hat q$ in a non-equilibrium plasma
using the QCD effective kinetic theory. We discuss subleading terms at large
jet momentum p, show that our expression for $\hat q$ reproduces thermal
results at small and large transverse momentum cutoffs for infinite p and
construct an interpolation between these limits to be used in phenomenological
applications. Using simple non-equilibrium distributions that model pertinent
features of the bottom-up thermalization scenario, we analytically assess how
anisotropy, under- or overoccupation affect the jet quenching parameter. Our
work provides more details on the $\hat q$ formula used in our preceding work
[arXiv:2303.12595] and sets the stage for further numerical studies of jet
momentum broadening in the initial stages of heavy-ion collisions from QCD
kinetic theory.
