The relationship between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump may have publicly erupted this week, but the billionaire’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is currently on a recruiting spree, WIRED has learned.
DOGE appears to be reaching out specifically to technologists who have previously worked for the government, even some of those who left as part of the administration’s campaign to drastically shrink the federal workforce, according to two sources who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity to protect their privacy. One candidate was told that even though they recently left the government under the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), they might still be eligible for a position at DOGE.
DOGE is looking to hire tech workers in development, operations, software, and product for two-year terms, a different recruit tells WIRED.
Potential recruits are being told, according to sources, that the pay range remains on the higher end of the government pay scale, between $120,000 and $195,000 per year. Applicants are, like WIRED previously reported, still being put through a multi-step process that includes a screening call, a take-home technical assessment, and two follow-up interviews.
DOGE applicants are required to complete a take-home project where they create a tool to analyze federal regulations in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). For the permanent USDS applicants, they’re asked to submit their code to a private file-sharing platform called Kiteworks. Applicants are asked to publicly upload their code to GitHub.
An email to candidates viewed by WIRED notes that successful applicants may end up working on projects like “leveraging AI to improve medical services for veterans,” “streamlining federal aid applications from Americans who experience natural disasters,” and “improving the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).” (WIRED previously spoke to a DOGE applicant who reported similar information.)
The executive order Trump signed that created DOGE placed the group inside what was formerly called the US Digital Service, a small Obama-era organization of tech talent where workers serve two to three year terms in government before heading back to the private sector. The executive order renamed USDS the US DOGE Service and established a “temporary DOGE organization” as well. Both bodies are currently hiring, sources tell WIRED.
The US DOGE Service and DOGE “are basically the same thing now,” one source tells WIRED.
Since Trump came into office and the otherwise small team of technologists at USDS became the staging ground for the Musk-led digital coup, the USDS has lost the vast majority of its staff, and has struggled to bring in new talent, WIRED previously reported.
Meanwhile, many members of the original DOGE strikeforce, which included young, inexperienced engineers who accessed some of the most sensitive data at government agencies, are now being converted into full-time government employees within federal agencies. Last week, Luke Farritor and Edward Coristine, who has gone by “Big Balls” online and previously worked for a telecommunications firm known for hiring former blackhat hackers were brought on full-time at the General Services Administration (GSA).
Sources also tell WIRED that Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer and one of the lead DOGE affiliates who spearheaded the group’s operations at the GSA, is considering revamping the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, which brings technologists into government and places them within different agencies to improve government services. The program has been unable to bring in new talent this year because of the government-wide hiring freeze. Shedd is the director of GSA’s Technology and Transformation Services (TTS), a subagency that provides technical expertise to agencies across government.
“Thomas Shedd and his bosses created a problem by collapsing and getting rid of all of their tech talent, and now they have these projects they want to prosecute to implement new capabilities and that requires tech talent,” says one GSA tech worker.