Shortage of engineers creates opportunities to advance in Ukrainian defense tech

The speed of innovation on the Ukrainian battlefield means frontline troops may need a new drone design within weeks — but the country’s defense industry faces a critical labor shortage that threatens to derail that pace.

Tens of billions of dollars in investments and wartime demand have fueled the creation of thousands of defense companies in Ukraine, but the supply of workers has failed to keep up. Yurii Faraponov, chief operating officer of BlueBird Tech, said his company can’t respond to some frontline requests because he doesn’t have enough engineers.

Another company recently poached a production manager by offering him three times his previous salary, along with paid housing, said Sergii Vysotskyi, vice president of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries. Some companies are tracking down retired specialists and begging them to return to work.