Huntsville & Redstone Arsenal Jobs

Moving to Huntsville for a spouse's orders, leaving the service, or chasing a defense job? Most work around Redstone Arsenal comes through two doors: federal civilian jobs posted on USAJOBS, and jobs with the contractors that support the Army, NASA and other agencies on and around the arsenal. Here's how each one works, the hiring preferences military families can use, where to search, and free help with your resume.

Quick links: Redstone Arsenal jobs on USAJOBS · Huntsville jobs on USAJOBS · Huntsville cleared jobs on ClearanceJobs · Current federal openings · Latest local listings

Who's hiring around Redstone

The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber's July 2026 leading-employers list puts the U.S. Army / Redstone Arsenal first, at about 45,500 people, including NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (about 7,000) and the FBI (about 2,200). Huntsville Hospital, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Leidos, SAIC, Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin round out the top of the list.^[1] Our leaving-the-military guide has the full table with employee counts.

Careers pages for the largest employers and some of the many defense and engineering firms on the Chamber's list:^[1]

• NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (on Redstone) (civil service jobs are posted on USAJOBS)
• Huntsville Hospital
• Mazda Toyota Manufacturing
• Northrop Grumman
• Boeing
• Leidos
• SAIC
• Lockheed Martin
• Blue Origin
• KBR
• Teledyne Brown Engineering
• L3Harris
• RTX (Raytheon)
• Amentum
• Parsons
• COLSA
• Torch Technologies
• MTSI

Federal civilian jobs: USAJOBS

Army, NASA, Missile Defense Agency and other federal civilian jobs on the arsenal are posted on USAJOBS, the government's official jobs site.^[2] Useful searches:

• All federal jobs at Redstone Arsenal^[3]
• All federal jobs in Huntsville
• Redstone jobs open to military spouses
• Redstone jobs open to veterans

Each announcement has a "This job is open to" section that lists who can apply, such as the public, current federal employees, veterans or military spouses. Read it before you spend time on an application, and follow its document list exactly.^[4]

Military spouses: two federal hiring tools

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) is a DoD program that gives eligible spouses priority consideration for DoD civilian jobs in the commuting area of the sponsor's new duty station. Military OneSource says you must be the accompanying spouse of an active-duty member with PCS orders, have married before the reporting date, and provide orders that list you as a family member.^[5] It applies only if you're among the best-qualified applicants, it can be used once per PCS, and it ends when you accept or decline a permanent position in the area. You submit the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD 3145-4) with each application.^[6,5]

Noncompetitive appointment is separate and works across federal agencies, not just DoD. Spouses of active-duty members, of members who separated with a 100% service-connected disability, and unremarried widows or widowers of members killed on active duty may be hired without competing with the public. It doesn't guarantee a job: you still have to apply and meet the qualifications.^[4,7]

Private-sector employers: the Military Spouse Employer Partnership (MSEP) is a network of employers that have committed to recruit, hire, promote and retain military spouses, with a job board on Military OneSource's SpouseWorks site.^[8] Licensed professionals should also read about Alabama's 30-day license rule for military spouses in our transition guide.^[9]

Veterans' preference

Veterans' preference gives eligible veterans preference over many other applicants for new federal appointments in the competitive service and many in the excepted service. It doesn't guarantee a job, and it doesn't apply to promotions, transfers or reassignments.^[10] There are three basic types: 0-point (sole survivorship), 5-point (non-disabled, based on qualifying service dates or campaigns) and 10-point (service-connected disability or Purple Heart). You need an honorable or general discharge. Military retirees qualify only if they're disabled veterans or retired below the rank of major or its equivalent.^[10]

Still on active duty? OPM says you can apply as a preference eligible before you separate if you have a certification that you'll be discharged under honorable conditions within 120 days.^[10]

Security clearances, briefly

Many contractor jobs around Redstone require a security clearance. You can't apply for one yourself, even if you offer to pay for it. A federal agency or cleared contractor sponsors you for a specific job that needs access to classified information.^[11,12] A contractor can start the process before your first day only if it has made a written job offer and you've accepted it in writing, with employment starting within 30 days of clearance eligibility.^[11] A clearance also doesn't guarantee a job; hiring comes first.^[11]

What that means for you: if you hold an active clearance, say so (with level and status) on your resume and search cleared-job boards. If you don't, look for postings that say the employer will sponsor or that you must be "able to obtain" a clearance.^[12]

• ClearanceJobs: security clearance jobs in Huntsville, AL
• ClearedJobs.Net job search (enter "Huntsville, AL" as the location)

These job-board links are plain links. We aren't paid by ClearanceJobs or ClearedJobs.Net.

Transitioning: SkillBridge

SkillBridge lets eligible service members train or intern with civilian employers during their last 180 days of service. The VA says you need at least 180 continuous days on active duty, must be able to finish within your final 180 days, and need chain-of-command approval.^[13] Search approved Huntsville opportunities on the official SkillBridge site.^[14] More on TAP timing is in our leaving-the-military guide.

Free job-search help