NASA GSFC Memo Regarding IV&V and Wallops Insourcing – NASA Watch

Keith’s note: the following email was sent by NASA Goddard Center director regarding insourcing at Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility in West Virginia. Full text below
May 5, 2026
A MESSAGE FROM THE CENTER DIRECTOR
Dear Goddard Colleagues,
“In alignment with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman’s workforce directive, the agency is taking deliberate steps to solidify its core capabilities. This effort is focused on strengthening NASA’s technical authority by bringing core, mission-critical positions into civil service.
As part of this approach, NASA is seeking to attract and retain in-house engineering, operational, and scientific excellence. This is an effort to reshape the agency’s internal talent pipeline and strengthen our technical authority and technical resilience. Across the agency, centers and directorates have been asked to identify what mission-critical positions need to be brought into the civil service.
At Goddard, we received approval to implement our first workforce directive submission, starting at the Katherine Johnson IV&V facility. Center leadership is in West Virginia today to meet with the workforce. We will soon move on to other packages at both Greenbelt and Wallops, and as we do so will maintain a steady stream of communications to those groups.
In the near future, you will see multiple civil servant vacancy announcements released as we intend to quickly advertise and hire for those positions. The hiring actions will be completed through an accelerated Direct Hire Authority process. The OCHCO has set up a website to help facilitate the application process. I encourage you to reference this site to answer questions you may have.
In his Feb. 6 message, Administrator Isaacman shared that “restoring and sustaining these core competencies is essential to ensure mission success and maintain U.S. leadership in space exploration.” This effort to transition core work into the civil service reinforces how critical these capabilities are to NASA’s future. While I recognize that this change might raise concerns, we are positioning NASA and our center workforce for continued success, ensuring we are ready for what’s next while remaining grounded in the strength of our people.
Cynthia
Acting Center Director
*for internal use only”
Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member 🖖🏻
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