DoD SkillBridge · Remote + Austin · Transitioning Service Members
Use your full SkillBridge window to explore the industry you want, gain hands-on experience advising real startups, and build a lifetime network — while getting out of the office and into action.
Retiring with 20+ years? Acquisition Program Managers, Special Operation Officers, O-6 and above, and Service Members with other significant contracting or Federal Innovation experience, please click here.
You either take the first traditional job that appears and lock yourself into a single path, or you try to explore consulting, innovation, and startup roles on your own and lose months of momentum.
Q-Bridge is not a direct path to a guaranteed full-time job. It is built for mid-grade and senior Service Memebers who already have good options and want time, coaching, and real access to test several futures, without having to choose only one on day one.
If your primary goal is a single, locked-in employment offer at the end of SkillBridge, other programs may fit better. If you want room to explore not only (regular) full-time employment, but also consultancy, fractional work, equity opportunities, and innovation-focused roles while still drawing military pay and benefits, this is designed for you.
Q-Branch recruits mid-grade and senior military professionals (E-5 and above, Senior NCOs, Warrant Officers, and Officers) with combat or direct operational experience who are ready to bring that edge into the critical-infrastructure sector: cyber, communications, intelligence, autonomous systems, counter-drone, aviation, mobility, and logistics.
If you've led under pressure, owned mission outcomes, and operated where failure wasn't an option, this session is built for you. Q-Branch operates at the intersection of new and emerging technologies: the platforms and systems being built right now that need battle-tested experience to design what comes next. The companies at this edge don't just need talent; they need operators who have lived the mission and can shape the next generation of capability.
Q-Branch creates fractional pathways that let you support these companies as they grow, plugging your experience in where it matters most without waiting for a traditional full-time slot. The result is real access to early-stage and scaling ventures: startup opportunities, equity, and room to grow with the company you help build.
We're targeting combat-arms leadership and the technical and professional mission sets that map directly onto critical infrastructure. The same instincts you use to lead teams and protect high-value systems against determined adversaries.
SpecialOperations
18A, 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E, 18F, 18Z, and 180A Special Forces Warrant Officers; 37F Psychological Operations; 38B Civil Affairs
Infantry
11A Officers, 11Z/11B/11C Senior NCOs and NCOs
FieldArtillery
13A Officers, 13Z/13B/13F/13M/13J/13R Senior NCOs, and 131A Targeting Technician Warrant Officers
Cyber& Communications
17C, 25D, 25B, 25U, 25S, 25H/25N, and 255-series Warrant Officers
Intelligence
35F, 35N, 35S/35P, 35G/35T, 35M, 35L, and 350/351/352-series Warrant Officers
AutonomousSystems
15W, 15E, and 150U UAS Operations Technicians
Counter-Drone/ C-UAS
14P, 14G, 14H, 14E, 14T, and 140-series Warrant Officers; layered airspace and site defense that transfers straight to infrastructure protection
Aviation Pilots
Warrant Officer aviators (153A, 153D, 153E, 154C, 155A/E/F/G) and 15A Aviation Officers, plus 15P/15Q aviation operations and air traffic control
Legal,Acquisition & Program Management
27A Judge Advocates, 27D Paralegals, and 270A Legal Administrators; FA51 Acquisition Officers across Program Management, Test & Evaluation, and Contracting; and 51C Contracting NCOs
Mobility, Transportation & Logistics
88M, 88N, 88H, 92A, 92Y, 92F, and Logistics/Maintenance Warrant Officers
Transportation Security & Infrastructure Defense
31B, 31D, and 12-series engineers
The sectors we serve: energy, cyber, telecom, ports, rail, aviation, defense logistics, and unmanned platforms. These need leaders who understand: threat, resilience, and continuity of operations by instinct.
Whether you led fire missions, maneuvered a rifle platoon, ran a SOF team, wrote the contract, tested the system, or built the network behind it all, you already think in terms of leading people and protecting critical systems against capable adversaries. That's the whole job. We translate it into the civilian mission.
Three steps
Train Receive a focused re-green on baseline planning (MDMP/IPB) plus advisor/consultant skills and how to stand up your own LLC if that path appeals to you.
Crawl → Walk Join real advisory meetings with startups. Observe, then begin providing input (as little as one hour per week or more, your choice) on contracts, manufacturing, SAM.gov, customer intros, and soft landings in the domains that interest you most.
Run (and beyond) Use your SkillBridge window (and any terminal leave) to deepen relationships, attend high-value events with coaching, and position yourself for fractional, equity, or executive roles. As an Q-Bridge alumnus you receive lifetime first-look access to scale-up opportunities across the Q-Branch portfolio.
This path prioritizes exploration and optionality over a single guaranteed placement.
How your MOS and operational experience map to careers in critical infrastructure, which roles you're competitive for, and how Q-Branch's fractional, equity, and startup pathways work (SkillBridge and beyond) so you make the jump without losing momentum.
Bring your questions. Bring your record.
