On September 28, Beetroot Academy is hosting an online discussion on how professionals enter the defense sector. Two people who work in defense recruitment on a daily basis will be answering questions.
In the first quarter of 2026, the defense sector posted over 3,000 job openings on DOU. There are 7–9 applications per position, and competition is noticeably lower than in commercial IT. Engineering roles—such as embedded systems, firmware, FPGA, and RF—take the longest to fill. At the same time, candidates with many years of experience go months without receiving a response to their applications.
The reason for this disconnect rarely lies with the candidate’s qualifications. More often, it’s because commercial IT and technical defense roles describe the same person using different terminology—and no one is obligated to explain this to the candidate.
The event is structured as an open Q&A session without a presentation: topics will be based on questions from participants, either submitted in advance or asked live. We’ll discuss the logic behind the screening process, actual requirements for candidates, technical and non-technical roles, hiring timelines, and the role of referrals in the sector.
Speakers:
- Marta Khrypiak— Recruitment & HR Consulting Lead at Lobby X. She leads the platform’s recruitment practice, through which more than a thousand defense-related job openings have been posted since February 2024.
- Oleksandra Tostanovska —Human Resources Director at Dwarf Engineering. Responsible for hiring within a defense manufacturing company.
Details: September 28, 6:00 p.m. Kyiv time, online, 90 minutes. Participation is free; registration is required. All registered participants will receive a recording.
Questions for the speakers can be submitted via the registration form; they will be read aloud anonymously.