Space Training and Readiness Command announced plans to hire 400 civilians in the coming months at its hubs around the country.
“These new teammates will be vital to helping us expand the pipelines,” STARCOM Commander Maj. Gen. James Smith said April 10. “We’re looking for talented civilians who are ready to join us in developing Guardians and validating systems that will secure our nation’s interests in, from and to space.”
STARCOM is the Space Force’s lead for training Guardians and testing new space capabilities, and one-third of its workforce is civilian. Available positions span a range of functions like acquisition, intelligence, testing analysis, and cybersecurity at the following locations:
- Patrick Space Force Base, Fla.
- Schriever Space Force Base, Colo.
- Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.
- Joint Base Andrews, Md.
- Other unspecified units that support STARCOM
The command will host a career fair at Patrick later this month and is planning similar events in Colorado Springs and at Vandenberg in May.
The hiring surge comes as the command is moving from its temporary headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base, Colo., to Patrick. STARCOM opened the doors on a new headquarters annex last month and plans to move a few hundred personnel into the new facility this summer. The phased transition to Florida should be complete by 2027, officials have said.
The Space Force expects to double in size in the coming years, and the command has a key role to play in bringing on new missions and systems as well as training and recruiting the growing workforce. During a House Appropriations Committee hearing in March, Chief Master Sergeant John Bentevigna emphasized how critical STARCOM will be in helping the Space Force manage its growth in the coming years.
“The scouting of the talent that will be coming into the service, the technical training, the professional military education—all of that will be the responsibility of Space Training and Readiness Command.”
The service’s fiscal 2027 budget request indicates that growth trajectory could start next year. The proposal calls for $71 billion, around a 77 percent increase over last year. That includes $1.9 billion in personnel funding—a $330 million bump over last year. Funding projections from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget show the service’s personnel budget growing to $3.2 billion by fiscal 2030.
The ’27 request includes $265 million for Operational Test and Training Infrastructure, the live and virtual environments that the service uses for test and training. Last month, Space Systems Command released a formal solicitation for a multivendor contract worth $981 million to support development of a physical range.