40% of Contracting Corps Vacant as Space Force Hires 100/Month

Scope of the Space Force Civilian Hiring Surge

The Space Force’s acquisition branch is mounting a civilian hiring surge to undo a federal workforce purge that gutted its budget and contracting bench. The reversal came fast and large, and now drives the workforce story for the youngest military service.

Space Systems Command (SSC) — the acquisition arm of the U.S. Space Force (official site) — employed nearly 2,900 civilians at the start of President Trump’s second term in January 2025. By the end of the fiscal year in September, that count fell to around 2,500. About one in nine civilians left, driven by departures tied to the administration’s federal workforce cuts. Civilians make up about one-third of the Pentagon’s smallest service, more than any other branch. SSC civilians now comprise roughly half of the Space Force’s entire civilian workforce of around 5,100 personnel. “We obviously took a big hit in 2025 — that was a rough year for everyone across the board. We lost a lot of civilians,” Natalie Riedel, executive director of SSC, said.

The holes show up first in the contracting shop, where experienced negotiators once reviewed every line of a satellite purchase. Empty desks there slow the paperwork behind a launch.

Riedel set an explicit pace. The command aims to hire 100 employees each month as it recovers. “We’re doing a full-court press,” Riedel said in a release Wednesday. “It’s an aggressive goal, but we have to get there.” The service asks Congress to fund around 7,200 civilian jobs overall in 2027, a two-fifths bump over 2026, to staff a burgeoning slate of missions from communications relay to missile warning and offensive cyber operations.

That growth funds more than paper shuffling; it puts people behind cyber defenses and missile-warning screens.

The Air Force and Space Force together seek to add more than 6,000 civilian personnel in fiscal 2027. A year ago they looked to slash around 5,700 positions as part of the same downsizing push (Air & Space Forces Magazine). That swing of over 11,000 authorized slots in a single budget cycle shows how fast the policy turned.

Role mix points to acute gaps in finance and contracting. Most pressing: vacancies in SSC’s contracting corps, where about two in five jobs sit empty. Backfilling civilian cybersecurity roles is another top priority, Riedel said. She also listed hiring for firefighters at Space Launch Deltas, engineers, and program managers: “We need the recent college graduates and we need mid-career professionals.” Her number one priority right now, she said, is working with the Human Capital Directorate to fill critical vacancies. While the surge spans many occupations, the budget and contracting hollow sits at the center of the acquisition rebuild.

Geography widens the lens. Because living near SSC’s Los Angeles headquarters costs a fortune, Riedel said the command focuses hiring at offices from Colorado to Boston and keeps each unit connected. Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) said in April it sought to hire more than 400 civilians for jobs ranging from intelligence analysis to wargaming. The push is not confined to one base or one skill set.

SSC is sifting through more than 1,000 resumes gathered from several hiring events this year, so candidates apply plentifully; the bottleneck is competition with the private sector for a small pool of qualified candidates, which Riedel said is tricky. Riedel hopes to pull the contracting vacancy rate down to about one in five, a target that demands sustained monthly hires above attrition.

The hiring push spans more than finance, but the empty budget and contracting desks drive the acquisition command’s urgency. That geographic spread — with Colorado offices flagged as hiring hubs — feeds directly into the local talent squeeze around Peterson and Schriever SFB.

Can Colorado Springs Fill the Budget Desks?

The local defense job market around Peterson Space Force Base and Schriever SFB is absorbing the federal hiring surge in hard numbers. Indeed listed about 360 defense contractor openings in Colorado Springs as of its latest scrape, with roughly 270 tagged as space defense contractor roles, while about 100 carried the Peterson SFB label. Those counts cover only contractor postings. Direct federal billets flood USAJobs separately, led by financial occupations.

Colorado Springs lies at the core of the Space Force’s civilian rebuild because it hosts Peterson and Schriever Space Force Bases and Colorado is home to more than 50% of the Space Force’s workforce. The Space Force’s budget could potentially double to $71 billion, local leaders told the Gazette in April 2026, even as U.S. Space Command relocates to Alabama. The Trump administration’s 2025 cuts reduced Space Systems Command civilians by about 11% (from nearly 2,900 to around 2,500), then reversed course with a push to handle a far larger budget. This strains the regional market for budget and contracting talent.

The federal side shows which financial jobs lead. USAJOBS and federal hiring boards list Space Force Budget Analyst and Financial Management roles at Peterson, with GS-9 and senior equivalents requiring NDAA 2012 certification. A separate Financial Management Analyst role at Peterson SFB supports SYD 81 at NH-0501-04, equivalent to GS-14 or GS-15, posted on LinkedIn. The Space Force also advertises financial manager careers on its own site. The monthly civilian intake described by Riedel puts federal financial postings at the front of the local surge.

Local leaders called the concentration an economic force multiplier for the region, per socodigest.com.

Two risks blunt the surge. Kitalent.com warned that a year-long Continuing Resolution would freeze $340 million in missile defense modernization contracts, choking contractor demand. The same source projected that a USSPACECOM permanent move to Huntsville could strip between 1,400 and 1,800 contractor positions from Colorado Springs. Those scenarios would reverse the absorption trend overnight and leave budget analysts chasing fewer private posts.

The talent squeeze also bends toward workers who lost jobs in the 2025 cuts. OPM rules give displaced federal employees reemployment priority through the Priority Placement Program and the Reemployment Priority List. A budget analyst posting notes subject-to provisions of the DoD Priority Placement Program and may build a 120-day register to fill like vacancies. Former civilians thus re-enter the Colorado Springs pool ahead of outside applicants, tightening the market further.

Contractors and federal hiring offices now scan the same narrow band of financial professionals. The Springs’ defense employment base is reshaping around the spreadsheet as much as the satellite.

Primes Follow the Money to Peterson

Lockheed Martin engineers at its Waterton Canyon and Colorado Springs sites are ramping up proposals for hypersonic platforms, space-based missile defense, and urban surveillance drones. Rocky Mountain Dispatch reported the shift on Oct. 2, 2025, as Colorado Springs positions itself as a primary beneficiary of the Pentagon’s strategic pivot.

The repositioning answers a simple question: where does the money sit now? The Space Force budget could double to about $71 billion with workforce growth, local leaders said in the April 2026 Gazette, as that command transfers to Alabama. Colorado Springs keeps the gravity because Colorado holds over half of that service’s workforce, per the same Gazette report. Soco Digest quoted local leaders saying the city will draw contractors, technology firms, and defense suppliers seeking proximity to acquisition and procurement decision-makers.

Raytheon Technologies is expanding its cyberwarfare division in Aurora, anticipating demand for domestic infrastructure defense and urban operations support. The October 2025 Rocky Mountain Dispatch piece placed that build-out beside Lockheed's proposal surge. Both primes read Defense Secretary Hegseth's trillion-dollar military budget announcement as a local windfall for Colorado's defense corridor.

Smaller firms are staking claims too. Kratos Defense in Colorado Springs is preparing a bid for the "Urban Operations Initiative," a program to equip National Guard units for domestic deployment. Sierra Nevada Corporation in Centennial is pushing mobile command systems and riot control technologies aligned with the new "internal threat readiness" call. Boecore Inc., a woman-owned space and missile defense firm, launched a hiring spree. Braxton Technologies is expanding simulation labs for satellite command and control. Catalyst Campus, a downtown Colorado Springs defense hub, hosted a "War Department Readiness Summit" to connect startups with Pentagon liaisons.

The contract paper trail confirms the concentration. A July 2026 filing on war.gov lists Space Systems Command at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs as the contracting activity for a sole-source acquisition with $10 million obligated at award. Lockheed Martin Corp. drew an $879 million order in May 2026 under a previously issued basic ordering agreement, showing the scale of prime awards flowing through the region's commands. Rocky Mountain Dispatch sources said internal teams must "accelerate readiness" for new procurement cycles.

Colorado hosts more than half the Space Force's workforce; the Gazette reported in April 2026. Art Loureiro, director for space defense solutions at L3Harris Technologies and chairman of the Colorado Aerospace and Defense Council, said Colorado Springs businesses suit the work because they employ former military members who provide specialized insight. That talent pool lets primes embed near the decision-makers without building from zero.

The proposed $1.5 trillion Defense budget sets $250 million for a new space operations center on Schriever, the Gazette said. Northern Command's role as center of gravity for homeland missile defense under Golden Dome makes the city vital. Primes are aligning bids to those lines rather than chasing the departing Space Command headquarters.

Not every local voice welcomes the rush. Some officials warn of overmilitarization from urban training exercises planned near civilian zones, and civil liberties groups want transparency on National Guard use in domestic scenarios. Still, Rocky Mountain Dispatch closed its October 2025 report with a clear line: for Colorado's defense sector, prepare to scale.

The August 2026 Air Force & Space Force Procurement Conference in Colorado Springs will seat those primes across from the contracting offices that now hold the pen on the Space Force's growing budget. That room is where repositioning turns into awards.

Landing a Federal Budget Analyst Job

A Space Force Budget Analyst posting at Peterson AFB opened July 12, 2026 and closed July 17, 2026, offering a permanent full-time GS-9 slot at about $63,000 to $82,000 a year. That five-day window puts the practical face on the service's civilian rebuild after the 2025 cuts.

The listing, carried on federalgovernmentjobs.us, shows what a civilian targeting Space Force budget work at Peterson actually confronts. The role is a resources advisor handling day-to-day control of budget formulation and execution. You compete in a compressed timeline with strict document rules and a probationary clause that few private employers would write.

Your application package must reach your USAJOBS account by 11:59 PM ET on the close date. Resumes may not exceed two pages. The posting eliminates applicants who skip required documentation to prove eligibility and qualifications, with no further consideration. After submission you get an acknowledgement email, and you track status through the My Applications tab.

The GS-9 grade sets the ceiling for this particular track. The announcement lists grade 9 to 9, so you cannot expect a higher step on entry unless you qualify under another vacancy. The job is a Financial Management Level 1 Certified position under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, Public Law 112-81. That certification requirement filters the pool before interviews start.

Veteran preference does not add points in this announcement, but officials consider it where applicable. Command must select Military Spouse Preference applicants, if determined best qualified, and place them at the highest grade they applied for. Displaced federal employees need a well-qualified or above rating to exercise selection priority. Those rules shift the odds toward candidates with existing federal or military ties. Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, or a spouse, widow, widower, or parent of a veteran, may carry derived preference.

Air Force Civilian Service describes Direct Hire Authority as a fast-track method to bring in public applicants with no prior federal status through non-traditional recruitment. That authority feeds the Space Force's monthly civilian intake at Peterson. Separate from hiring, the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015 gives a veteran with a 30% or higher service-connected disability up to 104 hours of disabled veteran leave in the first 12 months of employment. OPM's fact sheet says the leave expires one day before the anniversary of the first day of work and OPM will not pay it out as a lump sum.

The posting carries a hard probationary line: your job ends upon completion of your probationary or trial period unless a supervisor certifies in writing that continued employment advances the public interest. That language puts the burden on the supervisor to affirm the hire. If you are not selected, the agency updates the job status to Hiring Complete on USAJOBS after interviews close.

Candidates should note the posting's own wording asks for commitment to improving federal efficiency and upholding the Constitution. Supervisors may authorize leave accrual upon request. A disabled veteran may get retroactive leave substitution if VA approves a late rating with backdated effective date.

Assembling a two-page resume and cert proof in five days leaves little room. The Space Force's surge after the 2025 cuts means more such postings will appear, but each will keep the same federal rigidity. You should pre-stage your DD-214 and disability rating letters if relevant.

Set a USAJOBS alert for "Budget Analyst" and "Peterson AFB". Watch Air Force Civilian Careers for DHA openings. Submit before the ET deadline, not at the last hour.

Outside the Financial Rebuild

The civilian hiring wave at Peterson AFB and Schriever SFB that we traced through budget analyst and contracting roles is a slice of a much larger Space Force workforce picture. The service's own careers page states it "now offers dozens of civilian roles in the fields of science, aerospace and engineering" and calls for "the brightest minds in aerospace, technology and engineering" (spaceforce.com/careers). None of those engineering or technology posts fall inside the financial rebuild this article covers. The contractor postings and the monthly acquisition hiring goal describe the money-side of the house, not the people who design satellites or run networks.

Space Force careers listings break down civilian paths by field. Engineering shows 10 listed careers, technology 12, intelligence 7, logistics 16, and leadership 13.

The page also advertises roles across "intelligence, analytics, cybersecurity, operations, engineering and acquisitions" for enlisted, officer and civilian workers (spaceforce.com/careers). Acquisitions appear in that list, but the acquisition decision-makers we followed in Colorado Springs are budget authorities, not the program managers who procure satellites.

Cybersecurity and AI operational hiring form another excluded block. SSC's rebuild prioritizes contracting and cybersecurity alongside the budget roles. The cybersecurity track produces operators and defenders of space networks, not the financial controllers monitoring obligation rates. STARCOM's recruitment pitch — "We are seeking talented and driven individuals to fill critical roles in a variety of fields across the entire STARCOM enterprise, from Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, to Vandenberg Space Force Base, California" (starcom.spaceforce.mil) — spans those excluded technical fields alongside the financial ones. The Space Force's blanket call that "we need people who want to solve the hard problems of space" (spaceforce.com/careers) covers engineers, cyber operators and budget analysts alike, but this article keeps its lens on the last group.

OPM's classification portal is the backbone for grading the budget roles we cited. It "provides Federal position classification, job grading, and qualifications information that is used to determine the pay plan, series, title, grade, and qualification requirements for most work in the Federal Government" (opm.gov). Yet the same page admits limits. OPM warns that not all Federal jobs are covered by these documents, and that "if a series is not included in this list, we have not issued a specific classification standard for that series" (opm.gov).

"Some Federal jobs are not covered by these documents." — OPM

The budget analyst series falls under published standards; many engineering and cyber series carry their own separate guidance. OPM is also rescinding diversity, equity and inclusion guidance per Executive Orders 14151 and 14168 (opm.gov), a personnel policy shift that touches all hiring but does not alter the role boundaries drawn here. In the interim, OPM considers any previously issued DEI guidance on the page rescinded.

This story's lens stays on the civilians who shape and monitor the Space Force budget from Colorado Springs. The engineers building satellite buses, the cyber crews defending orbital networks, and the program offices buying hardware remain vital to the service. They are simply not the candidates filling the local budget desks or the contracting slots near acquisition decision-makers. Watch the engineering and cyber postings on the Space Force site if you want those tracks. The financial rebuild is real, but it is not the whole force.

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