The 2026 Hiring Guide
Working at Redstone Arsenal
A guide to how hiring actually works at Redstone Arsenal — which agencies drive demand, which contractors are doing the hiring, what clearances they look for, and how on-post access works. Anchored by 1486+ live job listings from 414+ Huntsville contractors.
What “Redstone Arsenal jobs” actually means
Redstone Arsenal isn't a single employer — it's a 38,000-acre Army installation in Huntsville, Alabama, that hosts the Missile Defense Agency, Army Materiel Command, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, the Aviation & Missile Center, the FBI's Hazardous Devices School, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and 414+ defense contractors that hold programs supporting those agencies.
When people search for “Redstone Arsenal jobs,” they almost always mean one of three things: federal civilian positions at the agencies on the Arsenal (posted via USAJobs), uniformed military assignments, or — by far the largest category — contractor jobs at the companies that support those agencies. This page focuses on what's actually open in the Huntsville defense market right now, sourced live from our marketplace and refreshed every 30 minutes.
The contractor positions are where the volume is. Of the 1,486+ openings currently indexed here, 236 require an active security clearance (Secret, Top Secret, or TS/SCI) — which is the single biggest filter Huntsville hiring managers use when narrowing candidates.
The agencies driving the hiring
Contractor demand at Redstone tracks the major customers on the Arsenal. Here are the agencies whose programs generate the most openings in our marketplace.
Contractors hiring right now
Employers in our marketplace with the most open positions in Huntsville this week.
Recent Redstone Arsenal openings
The eight most recently posted listings, refreshed every 30 minutes.
Surveillance Radar Engineer
Earned Value Management Senior Analyst
Business Development Executive, International
Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Internship
Flight Software Engineer
Platform and Cloud Chief Engineer
Strategic Capture Manager
Sr. Capture Manager - DHS
Working at the Arsenal
Roughly 40,000+ people work on Redstone Arsenal across military, federal civilian, and contractor categories. Most contractor roles are actually performed off-post in Cummings Research Park — the second-largest research park in the United States — or along Memorial Parkway, with engineers visiting the Arsenal only when their program requires it.
For roles that require on-post work, your employer sponsors a Common Access Card (CAC) or contractor base pass through the Visitor Control Center. Expect one to two weeks of in-processing before regular gate access. Gate 9 (Rideout Road) and Gate 1 (Martin Road) carry the bulk of weekday traffic; arrival windows between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. are reliably the slowest.
The clearance you hold determines which programs you can be staffed on. A Secret clearance opens up the broadest set of contractor positions. TS/SCI — particularly with a CI or full-scope polygraph — unlocks the highest-paying intelligence, cyber, and space-operations roles that Huntsville is increasingly known for as Space Command stands up.
U.S. Space Command HQ is relocating from Colorado Springs to Redstone Arsenal, with the buildout targeted around 2027. About 1,400 military and civilian positions are moving — and the contractor positions surrounding those are several multiples larger.
The hiring wave it's driving is concentrated in space operations, cybersecurity, intelligence analysis, and systems engineering. We track Space Command-specific openings as a separate vertical.
Questions people actually ask
Answers to the most common questions we get about Redstone Arsenal hiring.
Who is actually hiring at Redstone Arsenal right now?
The hiring isn't done by 'the Arsenal' itself — it's done by the defense contractors who hold contracts to support the agencies based there (MDA, AMCOM, AMC, the Aviation & Missile Center, and the incoming U.S. Space Command HQ). The largest hirers in Huntsville include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, RTX (Raytheon), L3Harris, SAIC, Leidos (Dynetics), Booz Allen Hamilton, BAE Systems, Teledyne Brown, Torch Technologies, Davidson Technologies, COLSA, and Radiance. The Department of the Army also hires direct civilians through USAJobs.
Do I need a security clearance to work at Redstone Arsenal?
Most cleared roles on or supporting the Arsenal require at minimum a Secret clearance; many require Top Secret or TS/SCI. A meaningful share of administrative, facilities, and some engineering positions only require a Public Trust or no clearance — but the higher-paying contractor positions are almost universally cleared. If you don't have a clearance, employers can sponsor you, but the process typically takes 6–12+ months and the position needs to require it.
What is the typical salary range for Redstone Arsenal jobs?
Salary varies sharply by clearance and skill: uncleared admin and entry-level technical roles often start around $50K–$70K. Cleared engineering and program management roles commonly sit in the $95K–$160K range. TS/SCI-cleared senior engineers, systems architects, and cyber/intel roles regularly clear $175K+ in Huntsville, especially for the work supporting Space Command, MDA, and classified programs.
Is Redstone Arsenal hiring contractors or government civilians?
Both, but contractor positions dramatically outnumber civilian ones. The Arsenal itself employs roughly 40,000+ people across military, civilian, and contractor categories; the contractor share is the largest. Contractor jobs are posted by companies like the ones listed above. Federal civilian roles are posted through USAJobs and tend to follow GS pay scales.
How does access to the Arsenal work — do I need a base pass?
Many roles are performed in contractor facilities OFF-post in Cummings Research Park (the second-largest research park in the U.S.) or along Memorial Parkway, so day-to-day base access isn't needed. For roles that require on-post work, your employer sponsors a CAC or a contractor base pass, which is processed through the Visitor Control Center. Plan for 1–2 weeks of in-processing once you start.
What is the U.S. Space Command move and does it affect hiring?
U.S. Space Command HQ is relocating from Colorado Springs to Redstone Arsenal, with the buildout targeted around 2027. The move brings roughly 1,400 military and civilian positions to Huntsville and is driving the largest contractor hiring wave the area has seen in a generation — particularly for cleared space operations, intelligence, cybersecurity, and systems engineering roles. We track Space Command-related openings separately at /space-command/jobs.
Where do most Redstone Arsenal employees actually live?
The most common Huntsville-area neighborhoods for Arsenal workers are Madison, Hampton Cove, Jones Valley, Big Cove, southeast Huntsville (near Hampton Cove), and increasingly Athens and Decatur for those commuting via I-565. The Madison/Research Park area is the shortest commute for contractor roles in CRP; Hampton Cove and southeast Huntsville suit on-post workers using Gate 9.