Young tech talent hoping to land a job in the private sector has a new way in: the public sector.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced the launch of the United States Tech Force on Monday, a two-year program that offers participants federal government jobs and eventual recruitment opportunities for private sector roles.
The government is partnering with at least 28 tech companies on the program, including Apple, Amazon Web Services, Anduril, Dell, Box, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Palantir, Oracle, Uber, and xAI, among others.
The Office of Personnel Management is spearheading the early-career program in partnership with other agencies. Participants will be placed at agencies across the government to work on modernization projects and, in part, implement AI, according to the Tech Force website.
Tech Force plans to hire around 1,000 applicants to start, according to the site, and is looking for people “highly skilled in the areas of software engineering, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics, or technical project management.”
Applicants will submit an application, complete a technical assessment, have interviews with agency leaders, and undergo a background test. OPM will do the initial resume review and technical assessment before passing the hiring decisions off to individual agencies, OPM Director Scott Kupor said during a call before the announcement.
Private sector partners can provide training resources and mentorship opportunities, and have committed to considering Tech Force participants for employment after the two years, according to the site. Kupor said on Monday’s call that there will also be a speaker series featuring company CEOs. The program, he added, will end with public- and private-sector job fairs.
Companies haven’t made any firm hiring commitments, Kupor said on the call.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to ask companies to hire people without knowing who those people are,” Kupor said. He added that he’ll “be certainly disappointed” if the program doesn’t lead to hiring by the private-sector partners.
Salaries will likely range from around $130,000 to $195,000, Kupor said. There are no specific degree or experience requirements for the positions, which will be posted on USA Jobs. Those interested are encouraged “to apply as soon as possible” on the site. Kupor said he hopes to get everybody hired by the end of March.
The roles are largely based in Washington, DC, and remote work options will depend on the agency and role, according to the site. They’re non-partisan positions and are entirely distinct from the US DOGE Service.
Though the Tech Force is primarily an early-career program, the government is also seeking “experienced engineering managers from private sector partners,” the site says. Companies can nominate employees, who will generally be expected to take unpaid leave or otherwise separate from their role to take the two-year position, per the site.
“They will become full-time employees of the government for the time they’re here, and therefore be subject to all the various ethics rules,” Kupor said. He added that each company will have its own policy, but expects that it will be “easy” for participants to return to their private-sector positions.
Kupor said on the call that the government plans to run the program on an annual basis and that he hopes to expand it in the years to come.
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