HX5 handles a wide range of Department of Defense and NASA work, from advanced weapons research to production readiness reviews for sensor systems and modeling and simulation for space programs. That scope of work sits behind CEO Margarita Howard‘s approach to hiring veterans, since much of it draws on skills service members already carry with them.

The company operates across more than 20 states and over 70 government locations, supporting research, engineering, information technology and mission operations for federal customers. Howard has described some of this work as unlike anything happening elsewhere, a point she raises when explaining why meaningful assignments matter as much as pay in keeping talent at the company.

Where Military Experience Fits

A service member leaving an Air Force engineering role, for example, might land at HX5 supporting similar systems but now viewed through a contractor’s lens rather than a uniformed one. That continuity lets veterans apply specialized training while learning how contractors interact with government program offices, procurement staff and oversight requirements.

Howard has emphasized hiring people with prior Department of Defense or NASA experience specifically because that background differs from commercial industry work in ways that matter for federal contracts. Veterans who understand agency structures and clearance requirements often adjust faster to HX5’s operating environment than hires without that exposure.

That preference shows up throughout HX5‘s project teams, where staff moving between assignments still need to satisfy the same clearance and documentation standards regardless of which agency they support. Margarita Howard has said this consistency is part of what makes veteran hires valuable across such a wide range of contract types.

As a service-disabled veteran and woman-owned small business, HX5 occupies a particular niche among defense contractors, one where Margarita Howard’s own service history and the company’s mission set reinforce each other. The firm’s roughly 1,000 employees work on programs that Howard argues offer veterans a chance to keep serving a similar mission, just from a different seat at the table. Refer to this article for more information.

Find more information about Margarita Howard on  https://www.finsmes.com/2026/01/margarita-howard-on-how-hx5s-defense-origins-launched-its-expansion-into-nasa-contracting.html