Finding qualified people is hard enough in defense contracting. Finding someone with the right technical skills, an active security clearance, and actual experience working in government environments? Margarita Howard calls those candidates “purple unicorns.”
They exist. They’re just rare.
Unless you know where to look. Howard, who founded defense and aerospace contractor HX5 in 2004 after her own Air Force service, has built a company where veterans make up more than 30% of the workforce.
“Experience in their respective fields, while supporting these agencies’ respective programs and missions, is very different from experience gained from working in the commercial world,” Howard explains.
The company just received the 2025 HIRE Vets Gold Medallion Award from the Department of Labor, recognition that requires documented hiring and retention metrics. For Howard, veteran hiring solves real business problems.
The Clearance Problem
HX5 operates across more than 20 states at over 70 government locations. The company supports Department of Defense and NASA missions in research and development, engineering, information technology, and mission operations. Most of that work requires security clearances.
Getting someone cleared takes time. Months, often. Sometimes years. A defense contractor with an urgent staffing need and a civilian candidate without prior government work faces a choice: wait for clearance processing or find someone else.
Many transitioning military members already hold active clearances. They’ve been through the process. Their clearances remain valid. They can start classified work immediately.
That timing advantage matters particularly for positions requiring immediate placement on classified contracts.
It’s not just clearances, though. Military members who held clearances understand operational security in ways that go beyond training courses. They’ve lived in environments where information compartmentalization, proper handling procedures, and security consciousness aren’t abstract concepts but daily practices.
Cultural Alignment
Military service creates workplace expectations around accountability, attention to detail, and operational security. Those values happen to align with government contracting requirements, where documentation standards, clearance maintenance, and performance metrics carry consequences.
Howard’s own military background helps HX5 maintain cultural elements that feel familiar to veteran employees. The company’s emphasis on integrity, mission focus, and security compliance mirrors military organizational values while operating as a civilian business.
“The work we do is very exciting. Some of it is not being done anywhere else in the world,” Howard says, explaining that meaningful work often matters as much as compensation in retaining talent.
Some veterans want nothing to do with defense and national security work after they separate. Others want exactly that—continuation of purpose without the military structure. For the latter group, defense contractors offer a way to keep contributing to missions they understand and value.
That mission alignment affects retention. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. veteran unemployment stood at just 3% in 2024, creating competition among employers for military talent. Veterans with clearances and technical skills have options. They stay where the work matters.
The Government Operations Advantage
A civilian software engineer with ten years of commercial tech experience brings valuable skills. A veteran software engineer with five years supporting military networks brings something different: understanding of how government customers think, how decisions get made in risk-averse bureaucratic environments, and how classified program requirements affect everything from project timelines to communication protocols.
“We look for people that have worked with or supported the Department of Defense as this experience is always very helpful,” Howard notes.
That government-specific knowledge reduces onboarding time. Veterans understand military organizational structures. They recognize how contractors interface with government personnel. They grasp the difference between what works in commercial environments and what works when your customer is a federal agency with specific regulations, reporting requirements, and approval processes.
HX5’s contracts span engineering disciplines: aeronautical, electrical, mechanical, structural. Information technology work involves handling sensitive networks and classified data. Mission operations support means integrating with government personnel on critical programs. These specialized roles demand professionals familiar with defense and aerospace operational environments.
Building Pipeline Access
HX5 has hosted several fellows through the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program since 2021, maintaining a steady commitment of two transitioning service members annually. The 12-week program allows active-duty members within 180 days of separation to gain civilian work experience while still receiving military pay and benefits.
For HX5, the fellowship provides early access to candidates who often already meet the “purple unicorn” criteria: technical skills, clearances, relevant experience. Transitioning service members often target large employers with established military recruiting programs or pursue commercial sector technology positions. Small and mid-sized contractors must work harder to attract qualified candidates.
Regular fellowship participation gives HX5 recurring access to military talent during the critical transition period when well-qualified service members evaluate civilian employment options.
The program has achieved an 80% hire rate nationwide since its 2015 inception, with fellows landing positions averaging $70,000 in starting salary across the program as a whole.
Whether potential employees want to work on projects that “get to the moon” or “accomplish this mission overseas,” Howard’s pitch connects military experience to meaningful civilian work. Some veterans seek that connection. For them, defense contractors like HX5 offer a path that leverages their military background rather than leaving it behind.
