Agencies need to shorten hiring timelines, give early-career technologists meaningful work, and equip leaders to support technical teams if they want to build the workforce needed to modernize services and oversee artificial intelligence (AI), public service and technology leaders said Nov. 9.
Speaking at the National Academy of Public Administration’s national conference in Washington, D.C., panelists described a gap between technologists’ interest in government service and agencies’ ability to recruit them and put their skills to work.
Agencies’ ability to recruit and support technologists affects how well they deliver services, evaluate emerging tools, and manage security and privacy risks, the speakers said. As agencies expand their use of AI, they also need employees with the expertise to assess those tools and put them to work effectively.
A March 24 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) illustrates the technology staffing challenge that some agencies face. According to the report, an IRS research and analytics group reported losing 63 employees in 2025 who had worked full or part time on AI. The IRS had 126 active AI use cases in its inventory as of June 2025 and planned to expand its use but had not identified the skills needed or developed a plan to address skills gaps, the report said. The IRS agreed with GAO’s recommendations, including developing an AI workforce plan.
Agencies need faster paths into public service
Jennifer Anastasoff, executive director of the Tech Talent Project, challenged the assumption that compensation alone prevents government from attracting experienced technologists. Mission and the work environment also matter, she said, but agencies must be able to hire people who are already interested.
She posed a practical test for public administrators: Could their organizations hire an interested candidate within two months? Lengthy hiring and security processes can mean candidates accept other jobs before government is ready to bring them aboard, she said.
Anastasoff said roughly 11,000 technologists had expressed interest in serving government through her organization, which seeks to bring tech talent into the federal government and state governments.
Arun Gupta, CEO of the NobleReach Foundation, said agencies also need to rethink how they present government careers to young workers. Rather than emphasizing a decades-long commitment, agencies can offer an opportunity to tackle difficult problems at a scale unavailable in many private-sector jobs.
“Kids want to serve right now, right? We just haven’t modernized the pathways to enable them to go do that,” Gupta said.
NobleReach is a nonprofit organization that connects technology talent and innovation with public service opportunities.
Gupta said NobleReach’s first cohort drew 250 applicants for 20 spots. Applications grew to 1,300 and 3,000 in subsequent cohorts. He advocated bringing young technologists into government with strong mentorship and allowing public service to become part of a career that may span government and industry.
Leaders must embed expertise in program teams
Recruitment is only part of the challenge. Alexandra Reeve Givens, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit that advocates for civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age, said technologists need to work alongside employees who understand government programs, the people they serve, and the obstacles to delivering services.
She described her organization’s approach of embedding technologists on policy teams while connecting them with technical peers. For fellows entering government or legislative offices, early orientation and a clear understanding of available tools can help them contribute during a limited assignment, she said.
Anastasoff pointed to Medicaid renewals as an example of technical and policy expertise improving service delivery.
A November 2025 Health Affairs study examined assistance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Digital Service to four states during the resumption of Medicaid eligibility reviews after pandemic-era continuous enrollment protections ended. Researchers estimated that the assistance increased automated renewals by 21.6 percentage points and reduced procedural denials by 8.3 percentage points compared with other states.
Senior leaders without technical backgrounds play a critical role in removing barriers and keeping teams focused on outcomes for the people using government services, Anastasoff emphasized.
AI raises demand for technical and program knowledge
Early-career workers can bring new approaches to experimentation and problem-solving with AI, Gupta noted. With appropriate mentorship, agencies can give those employees opportunities to make substantial contributions, he said.
At the same time, experimentation carries risks when government systems administer benefits for millions of people, Givens cautioned. Technical knowledge must be paired with an understanding of the program and the consequences of failure, she said.
“You need those two things together to make sure that we’re not just falling in love with the new solution, but we are making sure that the new solution is fit for purpose and is working well,” she said.
Givens highlighted the need for technical expertise in policymaking and oversight. Technologists can help lawmakers ask detailed questions about how systems work, what choices officials make, and how those choices affect people.
“What makes oversight effective is moving from the bumper-sticker ‘high-level values’ question to detailed-oriented questions that really probe the choices people are making … And that’s an area again where technical expertise can make a real difference,” she noted.