The Pentagon has announced the launch of War Force, a recruiting campaign for software engineers whose work would support multiple defense AI and modernization projects. The campaign is being run in partnership with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as part of the federal government’s U.S. Tech Force program. OPM said the program is intended to recruit hundreds of qualified applicants for technical roles supporting national security missions.
OPM Director Scott Kupor said the campaign is designed to give engineers a path into complex government technology work tied to defense priorities. War Force engineers will work across technical and mission teams to deploy and integrate technologies such as frontier AI, machine learning, automation and data systems. The agency said the engineers will also design, build and maintain software that supports the military’s operational needs.
The public description of the Forward Deployed Engineer role, found on the USAJOBS posting, shows the kind of software delivery work the Pentagon is looking to staff through the campaign. The role includes secure software integration, CI/CD pipeline modernization, automated testing frameworks and infrastructure as code.
Much of the work in defense AI depends on the delivery systems around it, including deployment pipelines, repeatable testing, integration practices, security controls and ongoing maintenance. OPM said War Force engineers will embed at the “unit level” across the Pentagon, an approach that could bring software teams closer to the people using those tools in the field. That proximity could matter in military software projects, where engineers may otherwise be several steps removed from the users and conditions their work is meant to support.
Placing engineers closer to operations could help agencies move faster, but the program’s temporary structure raises questions about handoff and maintenance. The USAJOBS listing describes the Forward Deployed Engineer role as a term appointment that cannot exceed two years, though it may be extended to a maximum of four years. That could help agencies bring in engineering talent quickly, but the long-term value of the work will depend on whether teams can maintain the software and delivery practices after those engineers depart.
The sustainment question seems especially relevant because the War Force campaign is arriving at a time of reduced federal staffing. A recent Government Accountability Office report found that 22 major federal agencies lost nearly 256,000 employees from December 2024 to January 2026, an 11% decline. The report said the Defense Department’s civilian workforce dropped by 10.7% in the same timeframe.
Against that smaller workforce backdrop, the USAJOBS posting lists the practical details of the Forward Deployed Engineer role. The position is listed as GS-14, a senior-level federal pay grade, with salary ranging from $125,776 to $197,200 depending on duty location and hiring agency. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be available, depending on the hiring agency’s policies. The posting says many vacancies are in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, with location also negotiable after selection. Applicants can indicate geographic preferences, but the posting says those preferences do not guarantee consideration, selection or assignment to a specific location. The role is not remote or telework eligible.
Applicants must also complete USA Hire and industry coding assessments. The required technical competencies include general programming and algorithms, requirements understanding and implementation, and debugging and troubleshooting.