Critical Start

At LaunchTech, we believe excellence isn't just a goal - it's our standard. Founded by a former United States Airman with a passion for service, we've built a culture rooted in integrity, commitment, and the unwavering belief that mission success comes from putting people first. As a woman, minority, and service-disabled veteran-owned company, we bring diverse perspectives and decades of combined experience to every challenge. Our crew of seasoned professionals thrives on solving complex problems, whether that means architecting secure infrastructure, protecting against cyber threats, or modernizing enterprise systems for government and commercial customers. We're more than just a technology solutions provider - we're a team that embodies 'Service Before Self' in everything we do. From our Huntsville headquarters to our DC and Buffalo offices, we've created an environment where ownership, collaboration, and continuous growth are the norm. Our commitment extends beyond our clients; through our Launching Scholars initiative, we're empowering the next generation of women in STEM. When you join LaunchTech, you're joining a mission-focused team that delivers excellence, period.

Target is one of America's leading retailers and the seventh-largest retailer in the United States by sales as of 2024, operating nearly 2,000 stores across all 50 states. With more than 400,000 team members, Target serves millions of guests every week, both in-store and online. The company generated over $100 billion in revenue in 2023, demonstrating its scale and market leadership. Target's distinctive approach to retail combines affordable pricing with curated product assortments, creating a shopping experience that emphasizes "Expect More. Pay Less." Since opening its first store in 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota, Target has grown to become an iconic American brand known for its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and community investment. The company operates nearly 2,000 stores and more than 60 supply chain facilities nationwide. Target has invested billions in digital capabilities, enabling same-day delivery and curbside pickup that served millions of guests in 2023. Through its Target Forward sustainability strategy, the company has committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and continues to strengthen communities through the Target Foundation, which has given millions to support education, food security, and arts programs.

For over 25 years, Critical Software has been engineering trusted technology for some of the world's most demanding industries. Founded in 1998 in Coimbra, Portugal, the company provides mission-critical software and systems services where failure is not an option - from spacecraft orbiting Earth 24/7 to aircraft flying high, vehicles keeping passengers safe, and smart meter networks powering communities. With more than 1,400 employees across seven global offices, Critical Software has established itself as a leader in safety-, mission- and business-critical applications, serving clients in aerospace, railway, medical systems, energy, finance, defense, and more. What truly sets Critical Software apart is not just technical expertise, but a deeply embedded culture and values system that guides every decision. As one of only a few tech companies worldwide with both waterfall and agile processes rated at CMMI® Level 5, the company maintains the highest quality standards while remaining committed to its purpose of contributing to a better and safer world. Proudly certified as a Benefit Corporation, Critical Software directs 5% of annual profits to community impact, maintains a maximum 10x salary ratio between highest and lowest earners, and invests in renewable energy across its facilities. The company's Triple P commitment - People, Planet & Profit - drives everything from neurodiversity talent programs to carbon neutral initiatives.

At Rise8, we believe that elite software development for critical missions requires more than technical excellence - it demands a culture of radical collaboration and continuous learning. Our team pairs directly with customer counterparts, practicing pairing at every moment to elevate people and deliver results that matter. We operate in small, cross-functional teams that rotate frequently, ensuring we meet new challenges and explore fresh ideas while maintaining our core commitment to shipping secure, working code into production fast. We are a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) with a fully remote workforce of 120 U.S.-based employees, united by a mission to create a future where fewer bad things happen because of bad software. What sets us apart isn't just our technical capabilities across cloud platforms, applications, cybersecurity, and product execution - it's our ethos of kindness and empathy. At Rise8, customer experience starts with employee experience, which is why 98% of our team says this is a great place to work and 100% report being offered professional development opportunities.

Early Warning operates the National Shared Database - a pooled threat intelligence resource spanning over 2,500 financial institutions - and uses machine learning to deliver real-time risk predictions across hundreds of millions of consumer and small business transactions. The company owns Zelle and Paze, positioning it at the infrastructure layer of U.S. payments where milliseconds matter and false positives carry direct financial consequences. The threat model is adversarial and adaptive: attackers probe transaction flows, test identity verification seams, and exploit timing windows in account-to-account transfers. The security surface includes real-time fraud detection pipelines, shared database integrity, and the transactional APIs that banks rely on for payment authorization. Engineers and fraud analysts work together on pattern recognition systems that flag anomalies without freezing legitimate payments - precision and reliability are operational requirements, not aspirations. The stack runs on cloud infrastructure with containerized services and DevOps practices supporting continuous deployment in a regulated environment. Owned by seven of the largest U.S. banks and operating for over three decades, Early Warning functions as a utility-grade fraud prevention layer with scaled threat visibility. The work involves adversarial machine learning, database security at consortium scale, and hardening APIs that process payment instructions in real time across a federated network of financial institutions.

Corelight transforms network data into definitive evidence, powering AI-driven detection and expert-authored workflows. Founded in 2013 by the creators of the Bro (now Zeek) open-source project, the company emerged from a realization that the best approach to cybersecurity starts with network evidence. The founders, including Dr. Vern Paxson who began this work more than 25 years ago at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, understood that attackers can evade endpoint detection and firewalls, but they cannot avoid leaving digital footprints on the networks they traverse. This insight became the foundation for Corelight's mission to make evidence the heart of security. Today, Corelight is the fastest-growing Network Detection and Response (NDR) platform in the industry, trusted by some of the most sensitive, mission-critical enterprises and government agencies worldwide. The company's Open NDR Platform is uniquely powered by open source innovations including Zeek, Suricata, and YARA, combined with proprietary advances. Corelighters are united by a strong shared culture and values, building an organization that sustains open-source development while delivering enterprise-grade security solutions that help defenders proactively hunt for threats, accelerate incident response, and gain complete network visibility.