Uncle Sam wants you, if you are a technical wiz.
The Trump administration launched the U.S. Tech Force on Dec. 15, 2025, a sweeping effort to recruit top technologists to modernize the federal government and accelerate the use of AI across agencies.
“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,” said Federal Chief Information Officer Gregory Barbaccia. “It is a call to service for our nation’s best technologists to join a mission-critical corps that will ensure our competitiveness, modernize our government infrastructure and lead the world in innovation from education to medicine.”
The program is expected to recruit about 1,000 technologists, most serving two-year terms. While early-career engineers will make up much of the cohort, the initiative is also designed to attract experienced managers from the private sector. A traditional degree is not required, and candidates will be evaluated on demonstrated technical ability rather than formal credentials.
Salaries are expected to range from roughly $150,000 to $200,000 annually, depending on experience and agency placement, with federal benefits included. Most positions will be based in Washington, though some roles may be located elsewhere. Remote work options will vary by agency. The initiative is structured as a cross-government effort to place engineers, data scientists and technology managers directly inside federal agencies to work on large-scale modernization projects.
The U.S. Tech Force is among the flurry of programs and initiatives established by the Trump administration to accelerate the implementation of AI, through private partnerships with tech and finance giants, in an effort to be the world leader.
The announcement of the U.S. Tech Force came four days after the president issued an executive order aimed at establishing a national standard for artificial intelligence regulation, part of a broader push by the administration to reshape how the United States builds, regulates and deploys advanced technology.
On Jan. 21, 2025, President Trump gathered several technology and finance CEOs at the White House to announce Stargate, a $500 billion private-sector investment in AI infrastructure that he described as the largest project of its kind in history. The infrastructure will include numerous data centers across the U.S., in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Wisconsin, and other states. To help power those data centers, the administration is exploring nuclear power. In June 2025, through executive order, the administration established the Reactor Pilot Program, through the Department of Energy, to expedite the deployment of advanced reactor designs. Eleven projects from 10 private companies have been selected for the program.
Earlier this month, on Dec. 9, the Department of War announced it had integrated a bespoke AI platform built on Google Cloud’s Gemini system, known internally as GenAI.mil. Officials said the platform will deliver enterprise-grade generative AI tools to more than 3 million civilian and military personnel worldwide, embedding natural-language systems into daily operations as part of what leaders described as an “AI-first” transformation of the armed forces.
Taken together, these actions reflect an administration working on multiple fronts: clearing regulatory hurdles, attracting massive private investment and rebuilding the federal government’s internal technical capacity. With the creation of the U.S. Tech Force, the White House is now turning its focus to the workforce needed to execute that agenda.
If Stargate represents the physical backbone of the administration’s AI ambitions, the U.S. Tech Force is intended to provide the human infrastructure. Administration officials argue that without skilled technologists embedded inside government, policy shifts and infrastructure investments will fall short.
Recruitment is already underway on a rolling basis. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced the U.S. Tech Force in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and agency leaders across government.
President Trump has repeatedly framed AI leadership as a central national challenge, a view formalized in the administration’s AI Action Plan released in July 2025. The plan centers on accelerating innovation, building infrastructure, strengthening diplomacy and security, and developing the workforce. It emphasizes lighter regulation, open models and countering foreign competitors, particularly China.
“This is a clarion call,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said. “If you want to help your country lead in the age of rapid technological advancement, we need you. 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. I am grateful to President Trump for prioritizing America’s technology leadership and empowering a cross-government effort to close our nation’s critical talent gaps.”
Tech Force participants will be embedded across a wide range of agencies, including the Departments of State, Treasury, War, Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Internal Revenue Service, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, OPM and GSA. Teams will report directly to agency leadership and focus on high-impact initiatives, from modernizing data systems to deploying AI tools at scale.
Program leadership includes administrators from multiple federal agencies, along with the federal chief AI officer, senior White House policy advisers and representatives from the United States Digital Service and the National Science Foundation. Administration officials say that level of coordination is intended to ensure technologists are empowered to make decisions rather than stalled by bureaucracy.
“GSA is proud to partner with OPM and the Trump Administration to answer the president’s call to fast-track AI adoption across the federal government,” Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum said. “Tech Force will be a true force multiplier, creating a pathway to bring in top private-sector talent to help drive a new era of American AI leadership inside the federal government and deliver for the American taxpayers.”
A defining feature of the Tech Force is its close integration with private industry. OPM announced an initial list of partners that includes Adobe, Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google Public Sector, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir, Salesforce and Zoom, among others. Participants will receive technical training and mentorship from industry leaders, and partner companies have committed to considering Tech Force alumni for employment after their government service.
That approach mirrors the administration’s broader AI strategy, which emphasizes rapid deployment and close collaboration with industry. In a sweeping executive order issued Dec. 11, 2025, President Trump declared that “United States leadership in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will promote United States national and economic security and dominance across many domains,” while warning that fragmented state regulation threatens innovation.
The order directs federal agencies to challenge state AI laws deemed overly restrictive, pursue a uniform national framework and ensure that AI companies are “free to innovate without cumbersome regulation.” It also established an AI Litigation Task Force at the Justice Department and instructed regulators to evaluate when state rules should be preempted.
