How to Apply to CACI International

9 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 19 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • CACI is a clearance-first employer, and most roles cannot move forward without an active and verifiable US security clearance.
  • The Phenom People ATS rewards clean formatting, conventional section headings, and exact keyword parity with the job description.
  • Compensation generally trails large commercial technology employers but includes a meaningful clearance premium and stable federal program funding.
  • Hiring velocity is sensitive to federal budget cycles, continuing resolutions, and potential government shutdowns, which can stretch timelines.
  • Ex-military and former Intelligence Community professionals are strongly represented and often have a cultural advantage during interviews.
  • Targeting roles aligned to specific contracts you can name, such as NGEN-R or SEWIP Block 3, signals program awareness to recruiters and hiring managers.
  • M&A activity, including LGS Innovations, Azure Summit, and Aeyon, is expanding capability areas and creating new technical roles in photonics, RF, and analytics.

About CACI International

CACI International Inc. (NYSE: CACI) is a Reston, Virginia-headquartered US federal IT services and C5ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Combat Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) technology contractor. Founded in 1962 as the California Analysis Center, Inc., the company has grown into one of the top ten US federal IT contractors, with reported FY2024 revenue of approximately $7 billion and a workforce of roughly 23,500 employees across more than 120 offices in the United States, United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the Middle East. President and CEO John Mengucci has led the company since 2019, continuing a strategy of disciplined organic growth supplemented by tuck-in acquisitions in differentiated technology areas. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CACI and discloses extensive program, segment, and backlog information through its quarterly and annual filings, which serious candidates should read before interviews. CACI operates in two reporting segments. The Expertise segment delivers software engineering, mission support, cybersecurity, C5ISR systems engineering, analytics, and signals intelligence (SIGINT) services to federal customers, typically priced as cost-plus, time-and-materials, or firm-fixed-price task orders against multi-year vehicles. The Technology segment develops and sells differentiated products, including C5ISR hardware, SIGINT sensors, radio frequency and electronic warfare equipment under the EMSOL brand, free-space optical communications technology gained through the 2024 acquisition of LGS Innovations, and RF photonics capabilities added through the Azure Summit Technology acquisition. The Aeyon acquisition further expanded financial management and data analytics capabilities for federal civilian customers, complementing earlier additions such as BIT Systems and Mastodon Design. The customer mix is heavily concentrated in the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, the Department of Homeland Security, and federal civilian agencies. Marquee programs include the Next Generation Enterprise Network Re-compete (NGEN-R) Navy enterprise networks contract held jointly with Leidos, the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 for Navy electronic warfare, and a long list of TS/SCI with polygraph programs supporting the Intelligence Community. International work, particularly in the United Kingdom, supports the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and adjacent national security customers, with sites in London, Harwell, Shipley, and other locations. CACI competes for federal talent and contract awards against Leidos (LDOS), SAIC, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), Accenture Federal Services, ManTech (now under Carlyle), Peraton (Veritas Capital portfolio), Parsons (PSN), L3Harris, KBR, Amentum (NYSE: AMTM after the AECOM-Jacobs CMS merger), CGI Federal, and DXC. The company is heavily reliant on US federal budget cycles, continuing resolutions, and the broader defense industrial base, which can cyclically affect hiring velocity. Compensation generally trails commercial technology employers such as FAANG firms but is stable, includes a meaningful clearance premium for cleared engineers and analysts, and is paired with mission-driven work that many former military and Intelligence Community professionals find compelling. There are no guarantees about hiring timelines, equity outcomes, or program continuity, and candidates should weigh stability and mission against the higher cash and equity ceilings available at large commercial technology employers.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Search openings at careers

    Search openings at careers.caci.com and filter by clearance level, location, and program area before you create an account, since most roles require an active US security clearance up front.

  2. 2
    Create a Phenom People candidate profile, upload a clearance-friendly resume, an

    Create a Phenom People candidate profile, upload a clearance-friendly resume, and complete the EEO and self-identification fields accurately.

  3. 3
    Target roles where your clearance level meets or exceeds the posted minimum, wit

    Target roles where your clearance level meets or exceeds the posted minimum, with explicit attention to TS, TS/SCI, CI poly, and FS poly differences, because mismatched submissions are typically auto-rejected.

  4. 4
    Apply through the official CACI careers site rather than third-party aggregators

    Apply through the official CACI careers site rather than third-party aggregators when possible, so the recruiter sees your application against the correct requisition ID.

  5. 5
    Expect an initial recruiter screen within one to three weeks for cleared roles i

    Expect an initial recruiter screen within one to three weeks for cleared roles in high-demand skill areas, and longer windows for uncleared or junior roles.

  6. 6
    Be prepared to verify clearance through the Joint Personnel Adjudication System

    Be prepared to verify clearance through the Joint Personnel Adjudication System or its successor systems, including bridging or crossover requests if you currently hold the clearance through another contractor.

  7. 7
    Move through one to three rounds of technical and behavioral interviews, often c

    Move through one to three rounds of technical and behavioral interviews, often combining a hiring manager screen, a panel with the program team, and a customer or program-specific assessment.

  8. 8
    If selected, expect a contingent offer dependent on background investigation rec

    If selected, expect a contingent offer dependent on background investigation reciprocity, drug screening, and customer-specific onboarding requirements that can extend the start date by several weeks.

Resume Tips for CACI International

recommended

State your clearance level, agency of last investigation, polygraph status, and

State your clearance level, agency of last investigation, polygraph status, and adjudication date in the top section of the resume, because federal recruiters and the Phenom ATS both screen for these terms.

recommended

Use the exact phrasing from the job description for clearance, certifications su

Use the exact phrasing from the job description for clearance, certifications such as Security+ CE, CISSP, CCNA, AWS, and Azure, and program names, since keyword parity drives ATS matching.

recommended

Quantify mission impact with metrics that are releasable, such as systems suppor

Quantify mission impact with metrics that are releasable, such as systems supported, users served, uptime achieved, vulnerabilities remediated, or program dollars managed, while staying within OPSEC and classification rules.

recommended

Use a clean single-column layout in standard fonts, avoid tables, text boxes, he

Use a clean single-column layout in standard fonts, avoid tables, text boxes, headers, footers, and graphics, because Phenom parsers can drop content embedded in those structures.

recommended

Translate military experience into civilian terminology, for example mapping MOS

Translate military experience into civilian terminology, for example mapping MOS, AFSC, or rate codes to roles like systems administrator, intelligence analyst, or network engineer, while preserving rank and unit identifiers.

recommended

List relevant DoD 8570 or 8140 baseline certifications prominently, since many p

List relevant DoD 8570 or 8140 baseline certifications prominently, since many programs require Information Assurance Technical or Management Level II or III at the time of hire.

recommended

Include a clear US citizenship statement when applicable, because most CACI role

Include a clear US citizenship statement when applicable, because most CACI roles require US citizenship for clearance eligibility and customer access.

recommended

Tailor a separate version of the resume for each program area, such as cyber, so

Tailor a separate version of the resume for each program area, such as cyber, software engineering, SIGINT, mission support, or analytics, rather than submitting one generic document.

ATS System: Phenom People

CACI uses the Phenom People talent experience platform at careers.caci.com to host job postings, manage candidate profiles, and route applications to recruiters. Phenom parses uploaded resumes into structured fields, applies keyword and clearance filters, and surfaces matched candidates to internal recruiters and hiring managers.

  • Submit a .docx or text-based PDF rather than a scanned image, so the Phenom parser can extract structured content cleanly.
  • Use standard section headings such as Experience, Education, Certifications, Clearances, and Skills, because Phenom relies on conventional labels for parsing.
  • Mirror the exact clearance phrasing from the requisition, for example Top Secret with SCI and CI Polygraph, so the ATS keyword filter recognizes your eligibility.
  • Avoid embedding critical information in text boxes, columns, or images, since Phenom can drop or misorder this content during parsing.
  • Keep your CACI candidate profile up to date with the latest clearance status, location preferences, and certifications so recruiters surfacing past applicants find current information.

Interview Culture

CACI interviews are mission-focused, technically grounded, and explicitly oriented around clearance, customer fit, and program continuity.

Initial recruiter screens are typically conducted by phone or Microsoft Teams and confirm clearance status, citizenship, salary expectations, location, and willingness to work on-site at customer facilities, which is common for Intelligence Community and Department of Defense programs. Hiring manager interviews dig into the specific technical stack, program domain, and prior cleared experience, and panel interviews often include senior engineers, program managers, and sometimes representatives from the customer organization. Schedules can shift around customer holidays, government shutdowns, and contract award timing, so candidates should expect to navigate occasional rescheduling without reading it as disinterest. The cultural tone tends to be direct and pragmatic, reflecting a workforce that includes a high proportion of former military, Intelligence Community, and federal civilian personnel. Interviewers value evidence of operational discipline, security awareness, and the ability to deliver in environments where requirements are constrained by classification, configuration management, and customer change control. Behavioral questions frequently probe how candidates have handled compartmented information, coordinated across cleared and uncleared teams, and supported customer missions under deadline or operational pressure. Demonstrating respect for chain-of-command, customer relationships, and program governance tends to land better than aggressive self-promotion or commercial-style growth-hacking framing. For technical roles, expect domain-specific deep dives rather than generic algorithm whiteboarding. Software engineers may be asked about specific languages, DevSecOps pipelines, and authority to operate processes. Cyber roles probe incident response, threat hunting, and compliance frameworks such as NIST 800-53 and the Risk Management Framework. SIGINT and analytics roles focus on tradecraft, tooling, and language proficiency where applicable. Hardware, RF, and photonics roles in the Technology segment lean heavily on specific test equipment, signal processing, and prior program experience. Candidates should prepare to discuss prior program experience at the level of detail that classification rules allow, and to defer specifics to a cleared discussion when appropriate.

What CACI International Looks For

  • Active US security clearance at the level required by the program, with a strong preference for Top Secret with SCI and a current full-scope or counterintelligence polygraph for Intelligence Community work.
  • US citizenship and clearance eligibility, since most roles cannot be performed by green card holders or non-citizens regardless of technical skill.
  • Demonstrated experience on federal programs, especially Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, Department of Homeland Security, or federal civilian customers.
  • Relevant industry certifications such as Security+ CE, CISSP, CISM, CCNA, CCNP, AWS, Azure, and PMP, aligned with DoD 8570 and 8140 baselines.
  • Technical depth in the program domain, whether that is software engineering, cybersecurity, network engineering, SIGINT, electronic warfare, data analytics, or mission support.
  • Operational maturity and security awareness, including a clean background check, willingness to comply with customer-specific access controls, and history of stable employment on cleared programs.
  • Ex-military or prior federal civilian background is a strong plus for many roles, particularly in mission support, intelligence analysis, and C5ISR engineering.
  • Language proficiency in Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, Russian, Pashto, or other mission-relevant languages for linguist, SIGINT, and analyst roles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a security clearance to work at CACI?
Most CACI roles require an active US security clearance at the time of application, ranging from Secret for some junior positions to Top Secret with SCI and a counterintelligence or full-scope polygraph for Intelligence Community programs. A small number of corporate, internal IT, and certain commercial roles do not require clearance, but the company is overwhelmingly clearance-driven, with roughly 70 percent or more of the workforce cleared.
Can non-US citizens apply to CACI?
The vast majority of CACI roles require US citizenship because clearance eligibility is restricted to citizens. Some United Kingdom and other international positions may be open to local nationals, but US-based federal program roles are effectively closed to non-citizens, including lawful permanent residents.
What ATS does CACI use and how should I optimize for it?
CACI uses the Phenom People talent experience platform at careers.caci.com. To optimize, submit a clean single-column resume in .docx or text-based PDF format, use conventional section headings, mirror clearance and certification phrasing from the job posting, and avoid embedding critical content in tables, text boxes, or images that the parser may drop.
How long does the CACI hiring process typically take?
For cleared candidates in high-demand skill areas, the process from application to offer often takes three to six weeks. Uncleared or junior roles can take longer. Background investigation reciprocity, customer-specific onboarding, and federal budget timing can extend the gap between offer and start date by several additional weeks.
How does CACI compensation compare to commercial tech companies?
Base salaries at CACI generally trail large commercial technology employers such as FAANG firms, but cleared engineers and analysts receive a meaningful clearance premium. Total compensation tends to be more stable due to long-duration federal contracts, although equity upside is more limited than at venture-backed or high-growth public technology firms.
Is prior military experience preferred at CACI?
Prior military experience is a strong plus for many roles, particularly in mission support, intelligence analysis, C5ISR engineering, and program management. The workforce has a heavy ex-military and former federal civilian representation, and interviewers often value operational discipline and security awareness developed in those environments.
What programs and customers does CACI primarily support?
CACI primarily supports the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, the Department of Homeland Security, and federal civilian agencies. Notable programs include the NGEN-R Navy enterprise networks contract jointly held with Leidos and the SEWIP Block 3 Navy electronic warfare program, alongside numerous Intelligence Community contracts requiring TS/SCI with polygraph clearances.
How does federal budget uncertainty affect CACI hiring?
Hiring velocity at CACI is sensitive to federal budget cycles, continuing resolutions, and potential government shutdowns. During constrained budget periods, requisitions can be paused or slowed, especially for new program starts, while backfills on funded programs typically continue. Candidates should expect timelines to stretch during fiscal year transitions and shutdown threats.
What languages are useful beyond English at CACI?
English is the primary working language. For linguist, SIGINT, and analyst roles, proficiency in Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, Russian, Pashto, and other mission-relevant languages can be a strong differentiator and is sometimes a hard requirement on specific contracts.
How should I tailor my resume for different CACI program areas?
Maintain separate tailored versions of your resume for each program area, such as cyber, software engineering, SIGINT, mission support, electronic warfare, or analytics. Each version should foreground the relevant clearance, certifications, tooling, and program names that match the specific requisition rather than relying on a single general-purpose document.
Does CACI offer remote work?
Remote and hybrid work availability varies sharply by program. Many Intelligence Community and Department of Defense roles require on-site presence at a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility or customer location and cannot be performed remotely. Corporate, software engineering on unclassified programs, and certain analytics roles may offer hybrid or remote arrangements, but expectations should be confirmed with the recruiter for each specific requisition.
How active is CACI in mergers and acquisitions?
CACI has been M&A-active in recent years, with notable acquisitions including LGS Innovations for free-space optical communications, Azure Summit Technology for RF photonics, and Aeyon for federal financial management and analytics. These deals have expanded the Technology segment and created new technical roles in photonics, RF engineering, and data analytics.

Open Positions

CACI International currently has 19 open positions.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 19 open positions at CACI International

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Sources

  1. CACI International Investor Relations —
  2. CACI Careers —
  3. CACI About Us —
  4. CACI Leadership - John Mengucci —
  5. CACI FY2024 Annual Report —
  6. NGEN-R Navy Enterprise Networks Contract Announcement —
  7. SEWIP Block 3 Program Overview —
  8. CACI Acquires LGS Innovations Press Release —
  9. CACI Acquires Azure Summit Technology Press Release —
  10. DoD 8570 / 8140 Cyber Workforce Qualification Program —
  11. Phenom People Talent Experience Platform —
  12. CACI International on NYSE —