Polaris Alpha is looking for a few good men and women— 100 to be exact.
The defense contractor, which recently more than doubled the size of its Aberdeen Proving Ground office, wants to hire 100 individuals, and company officials say they are seeking Maryland residents to fill at least 50 of the new vacancies.
“Polaris Alpha has enjoyed better than average growth across key areas in the Defense and Intelligence market, specifically in Cyber security domain,” said Polaris CEO Peter Cannito. “We anticipate continued double-digit growth – greater than 10 percent – for 2018 as this trend continues.”
Formed in 2016, Polaris reportedly has about 1,300 employees and offices in Alexandria, Virginia; and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Locally, the company has locations in Annapolis Junction, Fredericksburg, Aberdeen, Columbia and Elkridge.
The new job openings are all high-end positions involving scientists and engineers.
“Cyber security professionals, network engineers software engineers,” Cannito said about the kinds of available jobs.
The desired qualifications “vary but an understanding of enterprise software development, data analytics, cloud computing, machine learning and network operations [are being sought],” he said, noting that applicants must be U.S. citizens with a security clearance.
The company develops technology and security solutions for defense and intelligence clients and is growing because of increased spending by its federal clients, including the U.S. Army, according to Cannito.
Polaris was formed when Bethesda private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners combined three smaller firms, including Annapolis Junction software company Protenus Technologies.
The company recently moved from a 6,900-square-foot space to a 16,500-square-foot office in Aberdeen where extra meeting rooms, testing areas and demonstration labs have been installed.
“We are a high-tech industry leader focused on the most critical national security missions,” Cannito said. “We are leading the way in emerging technical areas such as Space Operations, Cyber, Electronic Warfare, Machine Learning and Data Analytics. We have approximately 1,300 dedicated employees working on cutting-edge capabilities in a people-focused culture.”
Cannito didn’t hesitate when asked what makes Polaris Alpha an attractive place to work for potential employees.
“Collaborative culture,” he said. “Meaningful work and cutting-edge technologies. We are seeking highly-technical professionals looking to perform meaningful work right here in Maryland.”