Why Hiring for Software & Engineering Roles in Defence Requires a New Approach

The defence sector is experiencing a crisis in technical talent acquisition. While software and AI engineers are in high demand, they often prefer Big Tech salaries over government contracts. Traditional defence hiring models—lengthy security clearances, rigid career paths, and lack of tech autonomy—are making recruitment increasingly difficult.

1. The Battle Against Big Tech Salaries

Silicon Valley companies offer compensation packages that outmatch defence firms by a significant margin. A senior AI engineer at Google earns $350,000+, while an equivalent role at a defence contractor might max out at $180,000. The Department of Defense is attempting to close this gap with direct-hire authorities and retention bonuses, but private-sector incentives remain stronger.

2. Security Clearance Bottlenecks

One of the biggest obstacles in defence hiring is the security clearance process, which can take 6-12 months. AI researchers and software engineers don’t want to wait that long when they can join a startup immediately. To address this, some agencies are piloting “interim clearances” for non-critical roles and partnerships with universities to pipeline talent early.

3. The Need for Agile Development Mindsets

The defence industry’s traditional waterfall approach to engineering is struggling to keep up with the agile methodologies used in private-sector software development. Companies like Palantir and Anduril are proving that startups with rapid iteration cycles can outpace legacy defence primes. Hiring efforts must shift toward engineers comfortable with rapid prototyping, DevSecOps, and AI integration.

4. Solutions: A New Hiring Model

To compete with the private sector, defence firms must:

• Offer competitive salaries through hybrid public-private funding models.

• Streamline security clearance processes for tech roles.

• Adopt a startup mentality—hiring software engineers the way tech giants do.

The defence industry must rethink its hiring strategies or risk losing critical technical talent to commercial enterprises.