As the U.S. Space Force races to build a workforce capable of operating in one of the most technically demanding domains on Earth—or beyond it—skills are becoming as strategic as hardware. This week, Workera, an AI-powered skills intelligence platform, announced it has been selected by SpaceWERX for a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI), signaling a deeper push by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) to modernize how it verifies and develops mission-critical talent.
The partnership centers on a familiar but stubborn challenge in defense organizations: knowing, with precision, what skills exist across the workforce—and how quickly those skills can be developed as missions evolve. For the Space Force, the stakes are particularly high. Its more than 14,000 military and civilian Guardians are tasked with protecting U.S. and allied interests in space, a domain increasingly shaped by AI, cybersecurity threats, and complex systems engineering.
Skills as Strategic Infrastructure
Workera’s role goes beyond training content or certifications. The company’s AI-powered agent platform focuses on verifying skills with precision, mapping them to mission requirements, and generating tailored learning pathways to close gaps at scale.
That distinction matters. In highly technical environments, self-reported skills and résumé-based assessments often fall short. Leaders need defensible, real-time data to decide who is ready for which mission, where to invest in upskilling, and how to prepare the next generation of technical leaders.
Through the TACFI-backed initiative, Workera will support the Space Force in building priority capabilities across areas such as AI, cybersecurity, and advanced technical domains, while aligning workforce development to operational needs rather than static role definitions.
Partnering With Enterprise Talent Management
A key component of the initiative is Workera’s collaboration with the Space Force’s Enterprise Talent Management Office (ETMO), which is responsible for ensuring Guardians are placed in roles that align with their strengths, interests, and performance.
The effort supports the Space Force’s Capabilities and Skills Framework, a structured approach to defining what technical excellence actually looks like in a service that didn’t exist a decade ago. Workera’s platform will help verify mission-critical skills, map technical requirements, and create custom domains tailored to the realities of space operations.
In practical terms, that means moving beyond generic job descriptions toward a more granular understanding of competencies—who can do what, at what level, and how quickly they can be ready for new challenges.
Why SpaceWERX and TACFI Matter
The selection comes through SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force and a division within AFWERX, which works alongside the Air Force Research Laboratory to accelerate the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) pipeline.
Over the past several years, SpaceWERX and the DAF have reworked the SBIR/STTR process to reduce bureaucratic friction, shorten proposal-to-award timelines, and expand access for small businesses. The Open Topic SBIR/STTR program, launched in 2018, broadened the scope of funded innovation—and Workera’s TACFI award reflects how workforce technology has become a national defense priority.
Beginning in late August 2025, Workera will formally embark on its next phase with the Space Force, focused on delivering capabilities that strengthen U.S. defense readiness through talent intelligence rather than traditional manpower planning.
AI Readiness Isn’t Just About Tools
For Workera CEO Kian Katanforoosh, the partnership highlights a broader shift in how organizations—military and civilian alike—think about AI readiness.
“By equipping each member of the branch with the precise skills they need for their roles, we’re helping build essential technical capabilities among all Guardians and developing strong candidates for senior leadership positions,” he said.
That emphasis on precision is critical. AI adoption often outpaces the workforce’s ability to understand, secure, and govern it. Without validated skills, AI becomes a risk multiplier rather than a force multiplier—especially in sensitive defense environments.
Workera’s platform addresses this by using adaptive, AI-powered assessments that can measure complex skills, including AI, cybersecurity, and systems engineering. The result is verified proficiency data leaders can trust when aligning talent to mission needs or investing in further development.
Supporting Compliance and Readiness
Beyond capability building, the partnership also supports compliance with the Department of Defense 8140 Mandate, which requires personnel in designated cybersecurity roles to demonstrate verified mastery across key focus areas.
Meeting 8140 requirements has been a challenge for many defense organizations, in part because traditional training records don’t always translate into defensible proof of proficiency. By validating skills directly, Workera helps bridge that gap—supporting both readiness and regulatory obligations.
From a leadership perspective, the value lies in visibility. Real-time insights into workforce capabilities allow commanders and managers to identify gaps early, prioritize upskilling investments, and accelerate readiness for emerging missions.
A New Standard for Military Talent Management
Jennifer Tucker, PhD, Assessments and Job Analysis Branch Chief with the Space Force’s Enterprise Talent Management Office, framed the initiative as a shift in how military talent is understood and developed.
Workera’s skills intelligence, she said, gives leaders the data-driven insights needed to identify and close critical skill gaps as the service accelerates its capabilities. In a branch tasked with shaping the future of space operations, that ability may prove as important as any single platform or system.
Building on a Broader Defense Footprint
The Space Force engagement builds on Workera’s growing presence across the U.S. military. The company already works with organizations including the U.S. Air Force, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and the U.S. Marine Corps.
Across those engagements, skills intelligence has emerged as a way to demonstrate return on investment for skill-based hiring and workforce development—an increasingly important metric as defense organizations balance modernization with fiscal discipline.
Reading the Bigger Signal
Workera’s TACFI selection reflects a broader reality: future military advantage depends as much on verified human capability as on advanced technology. As missions grow more software-defined and AI-enabled, understanding who can design, secure, and operate those systems becomes mission-critical.
For the Space Force, still defining its identity as the newest branch of the armed forces, skills intelligence offers a way to build readiness without relying on legacy workforce models. For the defense ecosystem more broadly, it signals that AI-powered talent verification is moving from enterprise HR to national security infrastructure.
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