INTUITIVE will open a new location at Garden of the Gods Business Park in August. (Courtesy INTUITIVE)
Aerospace engineering and analysis firm INTUITIVE has announced a Colorado Springs expansion that’s expected to create 71 new high-wage jobs.
The company plans to open its new office in August in the Garden of the Gods Business Park at 2424 Garden of the Gods Road — the same location where developers on Tuesday withdrew a controversial proposal for rezoning and 320 residential units that had been the source of years of conflict with residents in and around the Mountain Shadows area.
INTUITIVE joins a growing number of companies in the electronics and aerospace and defense industries — including Bluestaq, Zivaro and Entegris — that have chosen Colorado Springs for expansion since December. Most recently, Microchip announced an $880 million expansion to its Colorado Springs manufacturing facility on the city’s south side. Those expansions are expected to add a cumulative 1,347 jobs to the local economy in coming years.
Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, INTUITIVE has more than 500 employees across Alabama, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The company currently has three employees in Colorado. The Springs location’s projected 71 new jobs will attract an average annual salary above the median annual wage in El Paso County.
The positions will include senior software, engineer, senior cyber engineer/analyst, program manager, program controller, modeling and simulation engineer roles, according to today’s announcement from Gov. Jared Polis and the Global Business Development Division of Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT).
The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved up to $1,347,612 in performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits for INTUITIVE over an 8-year period. Those are contingent upon the company — referred to as Project Beacon throughout the OEDIT review process — meeting net new job creation and salary requirements.
From its Springs location, INTUITIVE will provide engineering, analysis, problem-solving and technical management support to the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Command, Missile Defense Agency, intelligence community and other space warfighting units, as well as broader government and commercial activities across the region.
Polis said INTUITIVE “joins a thriving and innovative aerospace ecosystem in Colorado Springs, where U.S. Space Command continues to carry out its important mission protecting national security in the space domain as we remain strong in our commitment to advocate for Space Command’s rightful home in Colorado Springs.”
Right now, Space Command is headquartered here in Colorado Springs — but in the dying days of his presidency, Donald Trump decided Space Command would move to Huntsville, Alabama. As we wrote earlier this month, the decision wasn’t his to make — and Colorado’s congressional leaders have been fighting ever since to keep Space Command here, along with 1,400 jobs and vital continuity in space operations and defense.
The announcement from Polis and OEDIT notes that Colorado is home to the largest private aerospace economy per capita in the United States, with more than 240,000 workers. In Colorado Springs alone, more than 250 companies work advanced technologies in national defense, global positioning systems, cybersecurity and satellite communications.
“After consideration of many geographical locations, it was clear that Colorado Springs was the best fit for our strategic needs — a fresh new landscape for our business operations and growth,” said Tim Mango, executive vice president at INTUITIVE, noting that “the Colorado Springs market as a whole is thriving in the Mountain West.”
INTUITIVE’s work in cybersecurity, software, and modeling and simulation will include both unclassified and classified elements and require office space, lab space and closed areas for classified analysis and processing.
Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, president and CEO for the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, said the Springs’ “strategic location, dynamic business growth atmosphere, cutting-edge technology, and highly educated workforce create a fertile environment for innovation opportunities, making it a logical place for space companies to expand and support military and commercial space missions.”
OEDIT Executive Director Eve Lieberman said INTUITIVE’s Springs expansion “is yet another testament to the strength of Colorado’s aerospace and defense industry and the talent of our workforce. Their experience and their expertise will be a welcome addition to this important part of Colorado’s economy and the Colorado Springs community.”
INTUITIVE also considered Cape Canaveral, Florida for expansion.