Key Takeaways Trump administration unveils US Tech Force to recruit 1,000 early-career technologists for two-year government assignments in AI and tech modernization. Major tech companies, including A...
The two-year program, led by the US Office of Personnel Management in coordination with multiple federal agencies, aims to address critical talent gaps in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and data science throughout the federal government.
Applications opened Monday, with the first cohort expected to be placed in agencies by the end of March 2026.
More than 25 leading technology companies have signed on as partners in the initiative, including Apple, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Meta, Google Public Sector, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir, Adobe, IBM, Salesforce, and Elon Musk's xAI.
These private-sector partners will provide mentorship, career planning advice, and have committed to considering Tech Force alumni for employment after their government service.
"This is a clarion call. If you want to help your country lead in the age of rapid technological advancement, we need you," said Scott Kupor, director of the US Office of Personnel Management, in the official announcement.
"Tech Force offers the chance to build and lead projects of national importance, while creating powerful career opportunities in both public service and the private sector."
The program allows private sector companies to nominate their employees to take temporary assignments in government service while retaining their equity and stock options.
Participants who complete the two-year program can seek full-time positions with partner companies, which have pledged to give hiring consideration to program alumni.
The initiative comes after the Trump administration pushed hundreds of thousands of government employees to leave their posts and dismantled several existing technology units earlier this year.
According to figures shared by Kupor, the government has brought in approximately 68,000 people while losing roughly 317,000 under the Trump administration.
In March, the General Services Administration disbanded 18F, an internal government technology consultancy group, after Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk posted on social media that the group had been eliminated.
The administration also transformed the US Digital Service, which previously paired private sector tech skills with public agencies to help modernize government systems.
"The main objective of this program is that there's a ton of technology modernization work that needs to get done across pretty much every agency in the government," Kupor told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Tech Force participants will earn annual salaries ranging from $150,000 to $200,000, plus benefits.
The program specifically targets early-career professionals with five to seven years of work experience or less, a demographic that currently represents only 7 percent of the federal workforce compared to 22 percent in the private sector.
"We're trying to reshape the workforce to make sure we have the right talent on the right problems," Kupor told CNBC's Squawk Box on Monday morning.
Members of the Tech Force will work on high-impact projects, including incorporating advanced AI into drones and weapons at the Department of Defense, building out the Trump Accounts platform at the Internal Revenue Service, and using AI to improve intelligence at the State Department.
The program will deploy technologists across civilian and defense agencies, including the departments of State, Treasury, War, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Energy, and others.
Throughout the two-year program, OPM plans to bring in Silicon Valley CEOs and other executives for speaker events.
The initiative will conclude with a comprehensive job fair where participants will have access to both public and private sector opportunities.
"If you're thinking about, long term, a career in technology, there is no bigger and more complex set of problems than we face in the federal government," Kupor said in a call with reporters ahead of the program's announcement.
The announcement came four days after President Trump signed an executive order establishing a national AI policy framework, which industry leaders had advocated for to prevent states from crafting their own regulations.
According to an OPM press release, President Trump has made clear that securing America's leadership in AI is the paramount national challenge of this generation.
US Federal Chief Information Officer Gregory Barbaccia described the program as critical to maintaining America's competitive edge.
"Tech Force is America's elite corps for the AI revolution, mobilizing the nation's best minds to lead on digital frontlines, defend our global edge and secure our future in technological leadership," Barbaccia said in a statement.
The Tech Force program is partnering with NobleReach Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit that brings together technology talent across government, industry, and academia, to help recruit technologists and administer the program. Interested candidates can apply through the program's website at TechForce.gov.
Former acting OPM director Rob Shriver, now managing director of Civil Service Strong at Democracy Forward, raised questions about potential conflicts of interest given the involvement of private sector companies.
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