Cleared IT recruiting in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is the operations center of national security space.
Peterson Space Force Base houses the NORAD and NORTHCOM command centers and supports U.S. Space Command and Space Operations Command among 111 mission partners, Schriever Space Force Base ten miles east commands the Department of Defense's satellites, including GPS, Cheyenne Mountain serves as the alternate command center, the Missile Defense Agency has executed missile defense operations at its integration center here since 1988, and Fort Carson's 4th Infantry Division sits on the south side. Requisitions ask for Secret through TS/SCI, with satellite operations, missile warning and missile defense programs dominating them.
The market is spread east of the city along the airport and out to Schriever, and a requisition should state its base, because the drive from the west side to Schriever is a daily decision for candidates.
Installations, agencies and employers that shape hiring in Colorado Springs
The organizations below shape the Colorado Springs market. They are named as facts about the area; none is a client of the firm.
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Peterson Space Force Base
Located in Colorado Springs, Peterson hosts Space Base Delta 1, houses the NORAD and NORTHCOM national security command centers, supports 111 mission partners including U.S. Space Command and Space Operations Command, and shares its runways with the Colorado Springs Airport.
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Schriever Space Force Base
Ten miles east of the city, Schriever's mission is to command cyber and space systems for global combat efforts, including precision navigation, timing and communications through command and control of Department of Defense satellites. Space Delta 8 and Space Delta 9, activated on July 24, 2020, are located there, and the 2nd Space Operations Squadron under Delta 8 operates GPS, the world's largest military satellite constellation.
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Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station
The station serves as the NORAD and NORTHCOM alternate command center and a training site for crew qualification, a short distance from the commands' headquarters at Peterson, and the 21st Communications Squadron keeps its mission systems operational at the Cheyenne Mountain Systems Center.
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The Missile Defense Agency
The agency's Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center in Colorado Springs supports research and development, system-level test and evaluation, and operational and training support to the combatant commands, and missile defense operations have been executed there since 1988.
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Fort Carson
The Army states that the 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson build and maintain combat-ready expeditionary forces to fight and win in complex environments as part of a joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational team.
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The Aerospace Corporation, Catalyst Campus and Lockheed Martin
The Aerospace Corporation's Space Warfighting Center at 7246 Getting Heights is a 90,000-square-foot facility with classified and unclassified space that opened in 2022 with more than 300 employees. Catalyst Campus on East Pikes Peak Avenue hosts the Catalyst Accelerator, Air Force CyberWorx, Platform One and Orbital Labs alongside the aerospace and defense industry. Lockheed Martin reports more than 14,000 employees in Colorado and describes its Colorado Springs work as military space operations, cybersecurity and AI-driven defense systems.
Commuting and remote work around Colorado Springs
Interstate 25 runs 298.59 miles through Colorado, according to the federal route log, and is the north-south spine between the Air Force Academy, downtown, Peterson and Fort Carson. Peterson sits on the east side beside the airport, and Schriever is ten miles further east, so a candidate on the west side of the city or in Monument faces a cross-town drive to either.
Mountain Metro Transit, the city's transit service, runs fixed-route buses and Metro Mobility paratransit from about 5 a.m. to 10:15 p.m. on weekdays with limited Sunday service, and most installation commutes are by car.
Satellite operations, missile warning and command center work are on site without exception, and much of the contractor engineering is in classified space. Catalyst Campus and the commercial software employers offer hybrid arrangements, and a requisition should state its policy.
Clearance levels commonly requested in Colorado Springs
Satellite operations, missile warning, missile defense and command center requisitions ask for Top Secret and TS/SCI, and engineering support around Peterson and Schriever asks for Secret at minimum. The Aerospace Corporation's center contains classified space, and Lockheed Martin describes its local work as military space operations. Requisitions in this market are written for current holders far more often than for sponsorship, and TS/SCI holders with satellite operations experience are among the hardest profiles in the country to find.
Colorado's posting rules apply to every one of them: compensation or its range, a general description of benefits and the anticipated closing date in the posting, and no salary history questions.
Specialties in demand in Colorado Springs
Industries hiring in Colorado Springs
Nearby markets
Questions about hiring in Colorado Springs
Do Denver candidates commute to Colorado Springs?
Rarely on a daily basis; the drive down Interstate 25 is long enough that most candidates relocate or decline. Recruiters Workforce works Colorado Springs requisitions with candidates who live in El Paso County and treats Denver and Aurora as a separate pool with its own page.
Which Colorado Springs requisitions need SCI access?
Those supporting the missile warning, satellite operations and command center missions at Peterson, Schriever and Cheyenne Mountain and the intelligence programs around them. Engineering support, cybersecurity and IT requisitions around the bases commonly ask for Secret or Top Secret without SCI. The requisition summary should state the level and whether a current Top Secret holder can be sponsored for SCI access.