IGARSS 2026 Workforce Panel Preview: U.S. Defense Intelligence Market Emerges from Hiring/Spending Freeze with Worldwide Ripple Effects

By Kevin P. Corbley

The job market for geospatial professionals in the Defense-Intelligence side of the U.S. federal government may not be as severe as it appears. Sure, there has been somewhat of a year-long hiring freeze and thousands of early retirement buyouts, but these events have caused a massive shuffling of the workforce that will create entry-level as well as advanced experienced openings sooner rather than later. There’s also good news out of Washington D.C. for international companies and job seekers.

That’s what Timothy Leary sees from his position as Defense and Intelligence Account Executive at NV5 in the Washington, D.C. area. Managing multiple accounts for NV5 with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) being one of the largest, Leary has insight into the job market within NGA and the contracting community supporting its mission.

“Who is going to step in and backfill those [government] positions?” said Leary, explaining that as senior people have left the Intelligence Community (IC), some employees from lower levels have moved up. This movement is creating a void in entry- and mid-level positions. NGA and other agencies have already realized this and have begun holding hiring fairs to fill those jobs.

While many of these jobs are restricted to U.S. citizens due to security clearance requirements, there is plenty to be optimistic about for international geospatial companies and job seekers in the Defense/Intel sector, Leary added. spending on Commercial Off-the-Shelf geospatial data, software, and other products has increased thanks to President Trump’s 2025 Executive Order 14271 “Ensuring Commercial, Cost-Effective Solutions in Government Contracts.”

This means the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has increased purchases from commercial companies, including international ones. Continuing a years-long trend, international geospatial entities are setting up offices in the United States, often staffed with a combination of U.S. and international personnel.

Leary will be speaking on the U.S. government Defense-Intelligence job market at IGARSS 2026 in Washington, D.C., on a panel moderated by Dr. Shawana Johnson, GISP. “Geospatial Workforce 2030: Industry Demand, Leadership Perspectives, and the Next Generation of Talent” will be held from 11 am to 12:15 pm EDT on Tuesday, August 11.

A focus of the panel is to discuss results of extensive research performed by Global Marketing Insights (GMI) of Ohio into the current preparedness of university graduates to enter the geospatial workforce. Dr. Shawana Johnson GISP, president of GMI, will present results of the research which has worldwide repercussions.

“International students and emerging professionals are essential to the future of the geospatial industry. Although citizenship and security requirements may limit access to certain U.S. federal positions, the same skills are urgently needed worldwide to address food security, water resources, disaster response, infrastructure, climate resilience, and national security,” said Dr. Johnson.

AI is Key to Workforce Preparedness

One key conclusion of the Workforce report is that academia must enhance its offering of AI-related courses for graduates to meet the demands of government and industry employers. Leary said that AI should be highlighted on the resume of a young professional seeking employment at NGA or an IC contractor.

The good news is that the geospatial AI training can be general and not specific to defense and military topics or workflows. This is because NGA and related organizations will provide the Defense-Intelligence-specific AI training new hires will require to meet their specific job-related mission. But a basic AI understanding when they walk in the door is the upskill capability everyone is looking for.

“NGA and other government agencies are on a path where AI will be a part of everyone’s daily work responsibilities,” he said. Whether working directly for a U.S. agency or an international supplier, the demand for AI expertise is a must, he added.

Not related to AI, Leary advises young professionals hoping to enter the Intelligence Community that many jobs will require security clearances. This requires U.S. citizenship and is typically sponsored by the hiring agency or company. A security clearance is not expected from a new college graduate but can provide a competitive advantage.  Leary encourages students to explore opportunities to obtain a security clearance while completing their degrees whenever possible.

“I would suggest students look at NGA internships while they are still in in their sophomore and junior years of school,” said Leary. This can jump start the security clearance process, which he notes can take many months overall and requires patience. Security clearances, however, are not necessarily required in all positions with companies supplying NGA and therefore may be open to international job seekers.

There is a lot more to learn about the Geospatial Workforce, in general, and the Defense-Intelligence sector, in particular, Leary concluded. He encourages all IGARSS participants to attend the Workforce session on August 11.

He promises attendees will walk away from the panel having learned:

• The IC is a unique marketplace, and you must learn how to navigate it
• There is a lot of uncertainty in U.S. government hiring right now
• Good people are hard to find, and NGA knows this, so don’t be shy about applying
  
  

The Workforce panel is part of the IGARSS 2026 Technology Industry Education (TIE) agenda. Find more details at: 2026.ieeeigarss.org/tie_events.php#geospatial-workforce-2030 .