GigEagle is a joint talent marketplace that uses AI technologies in the Eightfold Talent Intelligent Platform to match military talent with mission needs. In its first iteration, the platform helps DoD organizations address short-term operational challenges by harnessing the specialized civilian skills of the nation’s Reserve and National Guard members. By facilitating an agile talent ecosystem, GigEagle can unlock the full potential of the joint force, providing a decisive military advantage in an evolving era of Great Power competition.

The challenge

The rapid evolution of modern warfare puts new pressures on the talent management practices of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). In today’s national security environment, meeting fastchanging mission needs requires a highly agile and networked military—one that can leverage the full talent potential of the joint total force.

The reality is that outdated personnel management systems limit the department’s ability to quickly identify and engage the best skilled talent to solve operational problems.

The solution

To optimize the use of military personnel, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) built GigEagle, the first-ever joint talent marketplace for the DoD. The application is powered by the Eightfold Talent Intelligence Platform to enable an agile talent ecosystem across the entire defense department.

“The goal is to make finding and deploying suitable resources to meet specific needs as frictionless as possible,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Mike McGinley, director of GigEagle said.

The first iteration of GigEagle allows DoD hiring managers to leverage the specialized civilian skills of Reservists and National Guard members in temporary, short-term projects, or gigs. The expertise within this community of 750,000 service members runs deep but has been completely undiscoverable and out of reach.

In Eightfold, DIU saw an opportunity to get a running start with a commercial technology that already powers talent marketplaces for large private enterprises. The project team wanted to use Eightfold’s skills-matching AI to connect service members with mission needs at unprecedented speed and scale. After a review of available technologies, “Eightfold rose to the top amongst a very large group of evaluators,” Lt. Col. Chuck Kubik, GigEagle product lead said.

To prove GigEagle’s viability, DIU partnered with the Air Force’s AFWERX, the Space Force’s Space Systems Command, the Army’s 75th Innovation Command, and the Marine Innovation Unit. The mobile-enabled application is now in production following a 9-month early adoption phase and six months of prototyping.