Blab Tech
Scale AI Joins U.S. Tech Force to Bring AI Expertise to Federal Modernization
When Scale AI signed on with the Office of Personnel Management in early September, the federal tech landscape received a new power‑up. The San Francisco‑based AI infrastructure firm has joined a coalition of nine companies under the U.S. Tech Force initiative, a program designed to infuse government agencies with fresh technical talent and advanced AI expertise.
OPM launched the Tech Force program in December 2025 with a clear mandate: place roughly 1,000 early‑career technologists in two‑year federal roles. The goal is to close capability gaps that emerged after significant workforce reductions and to accelerate the modernization of legacy IT systems, strengthen cybersecurity, and broaden AI deployment across federal operations.
According to OPM Director Scott Kupor, the initiative “brings world‑class engineering expertise into public service and creates a stronger pipeline between industry and government.” The statement underscores the program’s dual focus on talent acquisition and knowledge transfer.
Scale AI’s participation highlights the growing importance of AI in government work. The company’s portfolio spans data annotation, reinforcement‑learning‑from‑human‑feedback services, large‑language‑model evaluation, and enterprise software for deploying AI applications. In recent years, Scale AI has partnered with several federal agencies to help them adopt machine‑learning capabilities at scale.
A spokesperson told ClearanceJobs that the partnership reflects a commitment to “help agencies access emerging technologies and technical talent.” The comment aligns with Scale AI’s history of collaborating with national‑security agencies and other federal clients.
The Tech Force coalition also includes networking and cloud‑security leaders such as Cisco and Arista Networks, cybersecurity specialist Wiz, and digital‑transformation firm Cognizant. Additional partners—Armada, Cognition AI, Payward, and Moveworks from ServiceNow—contribute expertise in edge computing, AI, and workplace automation. Under the partnership framework, each company will provide training resources, executive engagement opportunities, and specialized programming for Tech Force participants, and can nominate employees for temporary government assignments.
Federal agencies have cited a sustainable talent pipeline as a key obstacle to modernization. By offering competitive salaries and the chance to work on high‑impact projects, OPM hopes to attract early‑career talent that can help upgrade legacy systems, improve cybersecurity defenses, and adopt emerging technologies.
Scale AI’s role will likely focus on AI infrastructure and data‑management solutions. The company maintains a safety, evaluation, and alignment lab that evaluates large‑language models, a capability that aligns with the strict security and reliability requirements of government projects.
The Tech Force program is part of a broader federal effort to modernize technology across the civil service. In addition to recruiting talent, the initiative encourages temporary government roles that allow technologists to gain experience in public‑sector projects while retaining their private‑sector employment. The program’s launch follows a period of significant workforce reductions, during which approximately 220,000 federal employees left the civil service.
As of September 2026, the Tech Force program has received a high volume of applications, prompting OPM to extend the application deadline. The program is still in its early stages, and the exact number of participants who will be placed in federal roles remains unknown. However, the inclusion of Scale AI and other major technology firms signals a concerted effort to bring private‑sector expertise into government modernization efforts.
In summary, Scale AI’s partnership with OPM under the U.S. Tech Force initiative marks a significant step toward integrating advanced AI capabilities into federal agencies. The collaboration, along with the broader coalition of technology partners, aims to build a sustainable talent pipeline, accelerate modernization projects, and strengthen the federal government’s technical workforce.
OPM launched the Tech Force program in December 2025 with a clear mandate: place roughly 1,000 early‑career technologists in two‑year federal roles. The goal is to close capability gaps that emerged after significant workforce reductions and to accelerate the modernization of legacy IT systems, strengthen cybersecurity, and broaden AI deployment across federal operations.
According to OPM Director Scott Kupor, the initiative “brings world‑class engineering expertise into public service and creates a stronger pipeline between industry and government.” The statement underscores the program’s dual focus on talent acquisition and knowledge transfer.
Scale AI’s participation highlights the growing importance of AI in government work. The company’s portfolio spans data annotation, reinforcement‑learning‑from‑human‑feedback services, large‑language‑model evaluation, and enterprise software for deploying AI applications. In recent years, Scale AI has partnered with several federal agencies to help them adopt machine‑learning capabilities at scale.
A spokesperson told ClearanceJobs that the partnership reflects a commitment to “help agencies access emerging technologies and technical talent.” The comment aligns with Scale AI’s history of collaborating with national‑security agencies and other federal clients.
The Tech Force coalition also includes networking and cloud‑security leaders such as Cisco and Arista Networks, cybersecurity specialist Wiz, and digital‑transformation firm Cognizant. Additional partners—Armada, Cognition AI, Payward, and Moveworks from ServiceNow—contribute expertise in edge computing, AI, and workplace automation. Under the partnership framework, each company will provide training resources, executive engagement opportunities, and specialized programming for Tech Force participants, and can nominate employees for temporary government assignments.
Federal agencies have cited a sustainable talent pipeline as a key obstacle to modernization. By offering competitive salaries and the chance to work on high‑impact projects, OPM hopes to attract early‑career talent that can help upgrade legacy systems, improve cybersecurity defenses, and adopt emerging technologies.
Scale AI’s role will likely focus on AI infrastructure and data‑management solutions. The company maintains a safety, evaluation, and alignment lab that evaluates large‑language models, a capability that aligns with the strict security and reliability requirements of government projects.
The Tech Force program is part of a broader federal effort to modernize technology across the civil service. In addition to recruiting talent, the initiative encourages temporary government roles that allow technologists to gain experience in public‑sector projects while retaining their private‑sector employment. The program’s launch follows a period of significant workforce reductions, during which approximately 220,000 federal employees left the civil service.
As of September 2026, the Tech Force program has received a high volume of applications, prompting OPM to extend the application deadline. The program is still in its early stages, and the exact number of participants who will be placed in federal roles remains unknown. However, the inclusion of Scale AI and other major technology firms signals a concerted effort to bring private‑sector expertise into government modernization efforts.
In summary, Scale AI’s partnership with OPM under the U.S. Tech Force initiative marks a significant step toward integrating advanced AI capabilities into federal agencies. The collaboration, along with the broader coalition of technology partners, aims to build a sustainable talent pipeline, accelerate modernization projects, and strengthen the federal government’s technical workforce.
