# NASA Records Engineering Hiring Surge

In August 2026, NASA accounted for 1,231 of 2,020 federal engineering and architecture new-hire personnel actions—60.9% of the total—up from 33.0% in June and 34.0% in July. NASA represents 7.5% of the covered group-08 employee stock. The figures come from U.S. Office of Personnel Management data, which do not establish how many actions involved contractor conversions or whether NASA’s net workforce grew; community comments attribute the increase to agency-wide insourcing, but that explanation is not confirmed by the data.

- For contractors providing engineering and architecture support, the figures may signal a shift in NASA’s workforce mix, but they do not establish reduced contract demand, cancellations, or specific procurement changes.
- Procurement and business-development teams should distinguish personnel actions from contractor conversions and net staffing growth when assessing NASA opportunities; the published data do not quantify either.
- NASA’s reported share rose substantially over June and July, making workforce composition relevant context for contractors’ staffing and capture planning, without confirming a change to any particular requirement or contract.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Published:** October 20, 2026

### Government Entities
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

### Key Quotes
> I'd imagine roughly 50% (or more) of those hires are contractor conversions. We just went through a large "insourcing" across the Agency at all centers, so those numbers are not suprising at all.
> — Commenter

> The OPM records do not identify NASA Force placements, contractor conversions, current vacancies or net workforce growth.
> — Original poster

### Sources
- [NASA Accounted for 61% of Federal Engineering New-Hire Actions in August](https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/1xarliv/nasa_accounted_for_61_of_federal_engineering) - reddit-fednews