EconDefense
ACQ-26 / Workforce and expertise

Recruit eminent experts with special appointment and pay flexibility

Specified labs and agencies can appoint eminent scientific/engineering experts and, at OSC, finance/investment experts using tailored appointment, compensation and term rules.

Action briefPDF dossier · original 168Download record
Authority / instrument · ACQ-26

Research workforce

Workforce and expertise

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Named officials: Secretary of Defense for designated labs; DARPA, DOT&E, SCO, DIU, NGA, SDA, USCYBERCOM, USD(R&E), OSC leaders

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Not a general DoD exception for hiring any consultant.

Recorded executor

Organization HR and appointment authority

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedOrganization budget must cover compensation; elevated statutory pay ceiling is not salary authorization for every position. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementRelated evidenceDARPA publishes an expert-recruitment route, but its public careers page does not establish whether section 4092 or another appointment authority will be used. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Possible toolACQ-26 · People & expertise
Legal basis10 U.S.C. §4092

Authority holder: Named officials: Secretary of Defense for designated labs; DARPA, DOT&E, SCO, DIU, NGA, SDA, USCYBERCOM, USD(R&E), OSC leaders

People & expertise

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Express statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.

Program process and intake

Checked 2026-10-04 · process documented. Program evidence is separate from legal authority, available funds and transaction approval.

DARPA publishes an expert-recruitment route, but its public careers page does not establish whether section 4092 or another appointment authority will be used.

DARPA program-manager recruitment

Who this route serves
Experienced technical leaders considering government service
Administering office / routing lead
DARPA technical-office leadership and personnel office
Related process

DARPA is an organization named in section 4092, but its careers page does not identify that section as the authority for every program manager. This is a recruitment route, not a verified link to a particular appointment authority.

What this evidence label means
Public careers route documented

Page describes an initial two-year appointment with possible extension to four years, not a universal statutory maximum.

Status reference date: 2026-10-04 · research checked 2026-10-04

DARPA: Become a program manager · Appointment term; PM role; application routeofficial agency careers guidance · Evidence record

Program eligibility

  • Program-manager candidates need the technical vision and leadership to conceive and manage ambitious defenseR&D programs.

    DARPA: Become a program manager · Appointment term; PM role; application routeofficial agency careers guidance · Evidence record

Steps and preparation

  • Use the official PM-careers process; selection/HR must identify the actual hiring authority, term, ethics and compensation basis.

    DARPA: Become a program manager · Appointment term; PM role; application routeofficial agency careers guidance · Evidence record
Funding, limits and authority relationship

Funding and financial terms

  • agency personnel compensation · individual appointment-specific

    No advertised salary or funded4092 slot count independently verified.

    10 U.S.C.4092, 2024 official edition · (a) organization-specific programs; (b) authorities; sunset provisionshistorical statutory edition · Evidence record

Exclusions and limits

  • Named-organizational limits and sunsets still govern; the expired joint-AI paragraph must not be treated as revived merely because another organization recruits.

    10 U.S.C.4092, 2024 official edition · (a) organization-specific programs; (b) authorities; sunset provisionshistorical statutory edition · Evidence record

Authority relationship source

DARPA: Become a program manager · Appointment term; PM role; application routeofficial agency careers guidance · Evidence record

DARPA program-manager careers →

published guidance: Expert career interest; no claim of an open specific4092 position.

Research scope and sources checked

Searched4092, predecessor1599h and eminent-expert hiring; checked current DARPA careers and exact statutory baseline. Avoided substituting9903 HighlyQualifiedExpert authority or treating proposedEDU expansion as law.

What remains unverified

  • Current4092 implementing delegation, actual slot usage and the authority on any given offer remain unverified.
  • FY2027 legislative proposal addingEDU was found, but excluded as unenacted proposal.

A dated source check is not continuing monitoring. Recheck the linked official notice before preparing a submission. Browse program research →

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Only listed organizations/fields, position counts and compensation rules.
  • Normal term 4 years; specified extension up to 2 years when statutory conditions met.

Limits & exclusions

  • Not a general DoD exception for hiring any consultant.
  • SDA provision sunsets 2030-12-31; joint-AI paragraph(a)(6) shows expired 2024-12-31 in audited baseline and is not represented as current.

Funding conditions

  • Organization budget must cover compensation; elevated statutory pay ceiling is not salary authorization for every position.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • Named organization’s director and technical leadership

Resources

  • Organization personnel budget

Approval

  • Named statutory program official

Execution

  • Organization HR and appointment authority

Partners & review

  • Specialist candidates; Service/component personnel and ethics offices

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Eligible director identifies expert role → HR validates statutory slots/term/pay → fiscal and ethics checks → appointment.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

What this research establishes

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedOrganization budget must cover compensation; elevated statutory pay ceiling is not salary authorization for every position. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementRelated evidenceDARPA publishes an expert-recruitment route, but its public careers page does not establish whether section 4092 or another appointment authority will be used. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.

Currentness: GovInfo 2024 Code (includes FY2025 NDAA, P.L. 118-159) read in full for cited provision; targeted FY2026 NDAA P.L. 119-60 amendment/repeal sweep. No claim of complete legislative currency through 2026-10-02; remaining 2026 delta needs counsel validation. FY26 amendment search found no extension of the expired joint-AI subauthority; verify before any reliance.

Review scope: Original research target October 2, 2026; no record-specific last-review date supplied. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

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