WOBURN, Mass. Starting this September, Aptima Inc. begins its second year on contract with the U.S. Space Forces Enterprise Talent Management Office (ETMO) to support a skills- and capability-based approach to managing Guardian talent. The effort builds on prior work with ETMO to define a framework that organizes skills and capabilities in a consistent way across the service. In this second year, Aptima will move from framework definition to application by beginning the design of an algorithm that matches Guardians to Space Force positions based on their skills, backgrounds, and stated career objectives, while giving members clearer tools to manage and sequence their careers within the service. According to the announcement, the competency and skill framework developed with ETMO will provide the architecture for the personjob matching algorithm. In practice, that means the algorithm is intended to consider the requirements of specific positions on one side and the components of individual Guardian profiles on the other. The design goal is to connect people to positions in ways that reflect demonstrated capabilities and articulated aspirations, rather than relying on ad hoc or purely administrative matching. Aptimas role is to apply quantitative methods to that architecture so that decision-makers can see how well a Guardians current portfolio aligns with a role and what steps could improve the fit. The announcement also situates the work within the Space Forces baseline expectations for skills. Guardians are described as needing foundational capabilities, with examples that include areas such as cyber, intelligence, space engineering, or acquisitions. Within that context, the framework is presented as a bridge that maps the courses, experiences, or additional training a Guardian may need to fill gaps or correct deficits on the way to a target position. By laying out those pathways, the system aims to make career planning more transparent while helping the service allocate training where it delivers the most value. Another emphasis in the release is the breadth of the Space Force talent pool. The workforce includes personnel with military experience as well as expertise drawn from the commercial space and technology sectors. A standardized framework, the announcement argues, helps organize that diversity so the service can compare like with like when evaluating candidates for assignments. Building the matching algorithm on top of that structure is meant to translate a variety of skill histories into a common language that can inform assignment and development decisions across the enterprise. Aptima identifies Dr. Samantha Emerson, a scientist in the companys Performance Augmentation Division, as the project manager for the contract. She underscores that the competency and skill framework will serve as the underlying architecture for the matching mechanism. The stated vision is for Guardians and leaders to use the resulting tools to identify current capabilities, see where requirements and profiles diverge, and chart development steps that would improve alignment. The company characterizes the approach as systematic and evidence-informed, with the framework and algorithm designed to be updated as profiles and positional requirements evolve over time. The release frames the year-two work as a next step that begins starting this September, directly tied to the prior contract phase that produced the framework itself. While it details the design focus and intended use cases, it does not specify implementation milestones, performance targets, or deployment timelines beyond that start window. What is clear from the announcement is the scope: career management and position matching inside the Space Force, supported by a formal competency model intended to make training pathways and assignment choices more deliberate.