Desra Talent Operations
Senior IT, cybersecurity, and cleared talentfor mission-critical teams.
A premium, hands-on recruiting practice for small and midsized federal IT contractors, defense companies, cybersecurity firms, and regulated technology organizations. Every search is personally led by an experienced IT professional and federal IT company owner - and capacity is intentionally limited so each engagement gets real attention.
A capability of Desra Group.
Why Desra
Limited, accountable, specialized recruiting capacity.
Desra recruits senior IT, cybersecurity, compliance, and program personnel for federal contractors, defense companies, cybersecurity firms, and regulated technology organizations.
A qualified candidate on paper is not the same as a person who can operate in your environment. Recruiting here is led by an experienced IT professional who owns a federal IT company - so intake conversations, resume review, and technical screening are handled by someone who understands the work being hired for.
We take on a deliberately small number of searches at a time. Each engagement gets role intake, targeted sourcing, structured screening, candidate presentation, interview coordination, weekly pipeline reporting, offer-stage support, and onboarding readiness.
Who Leads Your Search
Dalton Young
Founder & CEO, Desra Group
Technology · Cybersecurity · GRC · Government Contracting
Your search is not handed to a junior recruiter working from a keyword list. It is led by the person who owns the company - and who has spent more than fifteen years inside the exact environments you are hiring for.
Dalton started in technical support and moved through systems administration, cybersecurity, industrial security, and compliance before executive leadership and ownership of a federal IT company. He has sat in the seats he now recruits for, built the teams around them, and answered for their performance on contract.
He also serves on the Board of Directors for AFCEA Orlando as Government Liaison Chair - which means the network your search draws from is a real professional community, not a purchased database.
I only take on a handful of searches at a time because I run every one of them myself. If I cannot give your requirement the attention it deserves, I will tell you that before you sign anything.
What We Recruit
Roles that carry the mission.
Technical & IT Recruiting
Systems, network, cloud, and end-user support professionals who can operate inside controlled environments from day one.
Cybersecurity & GRC Recruiting
Security engineers, analysts, assessors, and governance practitioners evaluated against the frameworks your program is held to.
ISSO, ISSM, RMF & CMMC Personnel
Compliance personnel screened for authorization experience, documentation discipline, and the certifications your contract requires.
Program & Project Management
Program managers, PMs, schedulers, and control account leads who understand deliverables, CDRLs, and period-of-performance realities.
Field-Service & Onsite Technology
Technicians and site leads for multi-location deployments, installations, refreshes, and sustained onsite coverage.
Contract Mobilization & Surge
Rapid, structured mobilization when an award, task order, or surge requirement changes your staffing picture.
Screening & Interview Coordination
Structured technical screening, reference validation, and interview logistics managed end to end so your team evaluates only qualified candidates.
Onboarding & Workforce Readiness
Onboarding coordination, credential and clearance tracking, and readiness support through the first weeks of performance.
How We Work
A defined process, start to readiness.
Define the Requirement
We work through the role, environment, clearance and certification thresholds, and what success looks like in the first ninety days.
Source Qualified Candidates
Targeted sourcing across cleared, technical, and compliance networks - not a resume database sweep.
Screen for Capability & Fit
Structured technical and behavioral screening by practitioners who have held the role, plus credential and reference validation.
Coordinate Selection
Interview logistics, evaluation feedback, offer guidance, and compliance-aware hiring support through decision.
Support Onboarding & Readiness
Onboarding coordination, documentation, and early-tenure follow-through so the hire is productive and accountable.
Who We Serve
Built for contractors accountable for who they put on the work.
- Small and midsized federal IT contractors
- Defense companies and the defense industrial base
- Cybersecurity firms building security and GRC teams
- Organizations hiring cleared or specialized technical professionals
- Regulated technology companies scaling technical teams
- Healthcare and other compliance-driven organizations
- Multi-site organizations staffing distributed technical operations
Packages
From a single role to three concurrent searches.
Every package is month to month with a three-month minimum - then cancel any time.
One Search
Single-Role Package
One critical hire - a security engineer, systems or network lead, ISSO, ISSM, or program lead - personally defined, sourced, screened, and supported through onboarding readiness.
- One active search at a time
- Role intake and requirements clarification
- Targeted sourcing and technical screening
- Weekly written pipeline reporting
Two Concurrent Searches
Two-Role Package
For teams filling a pair of connected requirements - a lead and a supporting engineer, or two seats on the same task order - run side by side without splitting attention.
- Up to two concurrent searches
- Everything in the Single-Role Package
- Interview coordination and offer-stage support
- Consolidated pipeline reporting across both roles
Up to Three Concurrent Searches
Multi-Role Retainer
Ongoing retained support across up to three concurrent searches at a time - not three guaranteed hires. Built for award mobilization, surge, and sustained hiring pressure.
- Up to three concurrent searches
- Requisition intake and pipeline management
- Candidate presentation and hiring coordination
- Onboarding readiness through early tenure
Three-month minimum
Real searches take real time. The minimum term gives a search room to work instead of forcing a rushed submittal.
Cancel any time after that
Month to month once the minimum is met. Thirty days' notice and the engagement closes cleanly - no long-term lock-in.
Swap roles mid-engagement
Priorities move. If a requisition is filled internally or put on hold, replace it with another open role at no change in structure.
Retained engagements are structured around search volume, role complexity, urgency, clearance or certification requirements, and sourcing difficulty. We scope the structure with you before any work begins.
Reporting
What Clients Receive Each Week
- Active pipeline by role
- Candidates sourced and screened
- Candidate status and next steps
- Market feedback on compensation, availability, and role positioning
- Client blockers slowing the search
- Recommended priorities for the week ahead
The Difference
Recruiting backed by delivery experience.
Desra performs the kind of work we recruit for. Technology and IT operations, governance, risk and compliance, and program support sit in the same organization as recruiting - so the standard applied to a candidate is the standard we hold ourselves to on contract.
- Searches are personally led, not passed to a rotating desk of junior recruiters.
- Technical screening is conducted by someone who has worked in IT and runs a federal IT company.
- Capacity is deliberately limited so each search receives real attention.
- Hiring support accounts for clearance, certification, and contractual security requirements as your contract defines them.
- Weekly written reporting on pipeline, status, blockers, and priorities.
- Support continues through offer stage and onboarding readiness, not a handoff at submittal.
Get Started
Discuss a Retained Search
Share the roles, volume, and timeline - or just ask for a recruiting fit conversation. A member of our team responds within two business days.
