Contributing to an unparalleled legacy
We do a lot of counting at DARPA. Along with results and data, we count sunsets. We count passing days. This is because most of us know exactly when we will leave the organization. The day that our ability to have an outsized impact on the future will cease. The day when we will hand over our badge and vacate a seat for the next inspired mind to make their mark. We methodically count the days because it urgently propels us forward.
For the fortunate few who become part of the DARPA legacy, a timebound journey with the organization represents a unique and singular opportunity to alter the future (no time machine or butterfly effect required).
At DARPA, every day is a chance to make history. A chance to explore, discover, and invent. A chance to collaborate with pioneers in science and engineering contributing to an enduring mission.
Where you fit in
We seek individuals who can think beyond the impossible to lead or support our programs. Solutions are never obvious, and the bar is set extremely high (in the stratosphere really), but nowhere else are big risks and wild thinking so extraordinarily celebrated.
There are several ways that talented folks find their way here. We have roles for the technical and the non-technical, for military and civilians, and for subject matter experts who come in as government contractors.
We know that diversity in thought, experience, and expertise is critical to surfacing novel solutions to DARPA-hard problems. We never stop looking for brilliance.
You might contribute in one of the following ways:
Life after DARPA
We come to DARPA fully aware that our stay is temporary, our time finite (although, if we are honest, none of us ever really leave). We leave a part of our hearts and minds behind, and we like it that way.
We leave the agency changed for the better. And when our time comes, we launch back into the world, continuing to make our mark.
To be a DARPA alumnus is to be in elite company. When our time runs out, we dull the ache by seizing opportunities to connect with other alumni.