Tech Hub Series: An Ecosystem Fit for the Sunshine State

Mission Innovation Tech Hub Series: Lockheed Martin is defining how new tech ecosystems support aerospace and defense capabilities across the globe. Traditionally dominated by regions like Seattle or Silicon Valley, we see American industries quickly creating a new standard of technology hubs. We begin this series in Orlando, Florida, where most people think of “Disney” or “theme parks”, but the Lockheed Martin footprint in this region provides more than just a tourist destination.

Now what exactly makes a city a tech hub? We believe at its core, a tech hub fosters innovation, and has a ready supply of skilled graduates with STEM degrees.

With more than 8,000 employees located in Orlando today, Lockheed Martin is at the epicenter of an exciting, rapid period of advancement. Recent contract wins have resulted in an influx of jobs, technology development and economic growth.

Our “Lockheed Martin 2023” campaign solidifies our commitment to the community and reinforces our presence as a technology leader. This pledge includes $1 million in annual donations through company- and employee-giving and more than 30 Lockheed Martin executives who lend their expertise and experience on nonprofit boards across Central Florida. Additionally, we work together with dozens of community partners such as the Orlando Science Center to showcase our passion for STEM education and technology.

Innovation is at the core of our Orlando business, but it isn’t just something we create, it’s something we nurture in our communities – among our youth and employees. At our 20,000 square-foot Innovation Demonstration Center (IDC), we showcase our advanced simulation technologies highlighting air, ground and next generation training and logistics capabilities.

We recently opened the Lockheed Martin Cyber Innovation Lab at the University of Central Florida (UCF), the second-largest university in the United States by enrollment, and the school from which Lockheed Martin hires the most employees.

Our cyber lab helps ensure UCF remains on the forefront of educating and empowering our nation's future cyber experts, and will cater to hundreds of students participating in cyber programs at UCF, expanding the pipeline for the nation's future cyber talent.

Investments such as the cyber lab and the advanced manufacturing training programs at Valencia College help further Orlando’s goal of becoming a full-fledged high-tech, innovation hub.

At our Orlando Innovation Center, Lockheed Martin employees engage with advanced technologies every day to inspire new ways of thinking. The result? Creative solutions to complex problems and proof that innovation is something we do for work and play. The center provides premier tech amenities for current and prospective employees, encouraging some of the brightest minds to work and stay at Lockheed Martin in Orlando.

We also recently opened a new Research & Development facility at our Orlando west campus which will soon be filled with more than 1,000 employees. It’s a collaborative space for engineers to create the next generation of technology and bring inventive ideas to life.

Be it fostering innovation, investing in education or strengthening relationships in communities like Orlando, Lockheed Martin is committed to inspiring – and hiring – the next generation of engineers, innovators and leaders.

Interested in joining the Lockheed Martin team? Check out open opportunities in Orlando or learn more about a career at Lockheed Martin.

Our impact in the state of Florida encompasses 46 facilities, more than 15,000 employees, 690 small businesses and 1,848 suppliers. Learn more about our economic and workforce development impact in your state here.