One sector that has open positions to go with its talent shortage is cybersecurity. Hiring in this field within aerospace and defense markets has more than doubled in the last three quarters of 2020 according to GlobalData. In January 2020, there were 1800 open cybersecurity positions. Fast forward to October 2020, and the market had 4800 active jobs. GlobalData Business Fundamentals analyst Ajay Thalluri said: “Companies are exploring and looking to plug vulnerabilities while building deterrence. During the last few months, companies such as Raytheon, Thales, Leidos, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin have posted senior-level cybersecurity positions. These include Director – Cyber Strategy and Risk; Associate Director – Cybersecurity Architecture; Director – Incident Management; Chief Information Security Officer; Chief Cyber Security Engineer/Architect; Director Data Governance.”
Layoffs Impacting the Defense Industry
| 3M | It’s time to start ordering more post-it notes, as the innovative 3M has plans to layoff 2,900 employees. The organization states that all sectors are impacted, as 2020 has dealt multiple blows. Despite playing a key role in manufacturing N95 masks, 3M has felt the impact of pressures from abroad and sees the need to invest in areas that show a faster return. CEO Mika Rowan states that the pandemic “advanced the pace of change and disrupted end markets around the world, increasing the need for companies to adapt faster.” |
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Hiring impacting the Defense Industry
| Booz Allen | Booz Allen has experts in analytics, digital, engineering, and cyber, and currently has over 2000 open positions. With advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, it’s clear that Booz Allen continues to be a leader in this technology. For those looking to work in AI and machine learning, San Diego, CA is a key location, generating an estimated $33.3 billion in annual gross regional product, according to the San Diego Economic Development Center (EDC). With average salaries in the six figure range, this focus area is a key contributor to compensation increases in the defense industry. “We are energized that EDC’s report findings show local respondents see AI as truly helping the San Diego economy by creating more jobs – not eliminating them,” said Joe Rohner, a Booz Allen director and leader in the firm’s analytics practice and AI services. |
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Opportunity to Watch
The world of autonomous drones continue to explode. Space startup Aevum is proof that the opportunities abound, with $1 billion in contracts with U.S. Space Force and U.S. Air Force. Aevum’s autonomous drone Ravn X rolled out December 3 and take off and land horizontally like airplanes, getting the organization on board the upcoming ASLON-45 mission with the Space Force, as well as an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with USAF that allows Aevum to compete for 20 missions over a nine year period.
“We’ve been effectively putting our launch vehicle design and our services to the test underneath contracts under the past year,” said Jay Skylus, CEO of Aevum, in an interview, adding, “They’ve really put us through the wringer, and that’s good. It puts our services to test and technology to test.”
With the world of autonomous drones growing, the hiring explodes with it.
“We have been adding more personnel to the team, not necessarily by hiring more people, but by creating more partnerships and contracts for our people,” he said. “Aevum has a technology and logistics focus, and so whenever we are operating our autonomous platforms, we will be looking for operators rather than engineers.”
