Mykola Klestov, CTO at IT recruitment agency ITExpert, believes that there is a shortage of specialists for engineering positions in miltech companies, but it is more complex than is believed and will not be resolved in the near future.
Mykola Klestov, CTO at IT recruitment agency ITExpert, believes that there is a shortage of specialists for engineering positions in miltech companies, but it is more complex than is believed and will not be resolved in the near future.
«When people talk about a shortage of engineers in MilTech, they usually mean a general shortage of people. However, only Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and Lviv Polytechnic University admit about 4.5 thousand people to potentially interesting specialties for MilTech every year — according to YEDEBO,» Klestov said in a blog on DOU.
He believes that there is a primary shortage of engineers with specific skill sets. In his experience, the greatest shortage is of engineers who «can build hardware solutions from scratch.»
«Not to support or refine what exists, but to design: boards, communication modules, navigation systems, sensor integration. Specialists with experience working with high-frequency boards, electromagnetic compatibility, radio communications, and electronic warfare countermeasures are especially valuable. There are critically few such specialists and this problem will not be solved quickly,» noted the CTO at ITExpert.
According to him, despite the growing interest in engineering specialties, some curricula at universities still do not cover applied modules: High-speed PCB design, work in Altium, soldering, EMC/EMI, electronic warfare (according to a study by ITExpert, 2025).
«For most roles, it is more effective to leave MilTech-specificity as a plus, not a hard must. For example, with Ardupilot: direct experience is valuable, but there are related systems — automotive or on-board computers, control systems from the civilian sphere, where engineers worked with very similar tasks and can quickly adapt,» Mykola Klestov points out.
In his opinion, the focus should not be on the title, but on engineering competence, because a hardware engineer in automotive or medical electronics often has a strong foundation for further education.
«The shortage of hardware specialists was formed by the market structure. Ukrainian IT has been developing for years through software outsourcing — faster, cheaper, and easier to scale. Hardware areas require laboratories, logistics, long development cycles, and consideration of security nuances. Because of this, a broad base of hardware engineers simply did not have time to form,» says Klestov.
Previously, Human Resources Lead Viktoriya Mirkevych told what awaits candidates who plan to apply for Miltech vacancies — the industry has its own characteristics.
