Federal hiring is in the middle of its most significant reset in decades—and AI vendors are racing to align with the new rules of the game. Neuroscale AI, a company focused on secure, agentic AI for workforce transformation, has entered that race through a new partnership with Carahsoft Technology Corp., one of the most influential distributors in the U.S. public sector IT market.
Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as Neuroscale AI’s Public Sector distributor, making its AI-driven talent management platforms available to federal agencies through Carahsoft’s extensive reseller network and two major government procurement vehicles: NASA SEWP V and ITES-SW2.
The timing is not accidental. The partnership arrives as agencies scramble to operationalize Executive Order 14170, signed January 20, 2025, alongside the OPM Merit-Based Hiring Plan released in May 2025—policies that fundamentally reshape how federal hiring is supposed to work.
Why Federal Hiring Is Being Rewritten
For years, federal hiring has been criticized as slow, opaque, and overly dependent on credentials that don’t reliably predict job performance. Executive Order 14170 aims to change that by enforcing a series of structural shifts:
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Moving from degree-based screening to skills-based assessments
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Requiring essay-style responses that evaluate alignment with constitutional principles
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Enforcing a two-page resume limit to reduce noise and focus on relevant qualifications
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Cutting time-to-hire to under 80 days
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Expanding candidate pools while reaffirming merit as the sole basis for hiring decisions
These changes sound straightforward in policy language. In practice, they introduce enormous operational complexity—especially for agencies still reliant on legacy HR systems and manual screening processes.
That’s the gap Neuroscale AI is positioning itself to fill.
What the Neuroscale–Carahsoft Deal Actually Delivers
Through Carahsoft, federal agencies gain access to Neuroscale’s AI hiring ecosystem, anchored by three platforms: ARBI, Athena, and Aurora.
Carahsoft’s role is critical here. As The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, it acts as the connective tissue between emerging technology vendors and public sector buyers, handling compliance, contracting, and channel distribution. Availability via SEWP V and ITES-SW2 significantly lowers the barrier for agencies to adopt Neuroscale’s tools without lengthy procurement cycles.
In short, this partnership turns policy intent into deployable infrastructure.
ARBI: AI as an Arbitrator, Not Just a Filter
At the center of Neuroscale’s offering is ARBI (Agentic Resume-Based Intelligence), which the company describes as an AI “arbitrator” rather than a simple screening engine.
ARBI applies generative AI and agentic reasoning to core hiring workflows, enabling agencies to:
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Rapidly assess resumes and credentials using skills-based criteria
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Automatically apply veterans’ preference, EEO requirements, and clearance rules
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Map candidate skills directly to mission-specific roles
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Operate in on-premise, air-gapped environments to protect sensitive applicant data
This last point is crucial. Unlike many commercial HR AI tools built for cloud-first enterprises, ARBI is designed for federal security realities, where data sovereignty and controlled environments are non-negotiable.
By positioning AI as a decision-support arbitrator—rather than a black-box filter—Neuroscale is also addressing a growing concern in public sector hiring: explainability and trust.
Athena: Preparing Candidates for Merit-Based Evaluation
While ARBI focuses on the agency side, Neuroscale Athena targets a less discussed but equally important problem: candidate readiness.
Under the new OPM framework, applicants must submit concise resumes and essay-style responses aligned with merit-based criteria. Athena helps by offering:
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AI-assisted resume and application preparation aligned to federal standards
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Mock interviews and skills-based assessments
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Recruiter insights designed to reduce unconscious bias while preserving human judgment
This dual-sided approach—supporting both recruiters and applicants—reflects a recognition that merit-based hiring isn’t just about better screening tools. It also requires clearer signals and better-prepared candidates.
Aurora: Extending AI Beyond Screening
Neuroscale’s third platform, Aurora, expands AI into candidate engagement and workforce lifecycle management.
Originally developed for automated outreach and campaign dashboards, Aurora enables agencies to:
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Deliver personalized candidate communications at scale
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Track engagement across the hiring funnel
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Integrate outreach data with evaluation and compliance workflows
In the context of EO 14170, Aurora plays a subtle but important role. Transparency and candidate experience are increasingly seen as part of fairness. Automated, consistent communication reduces uncertainty, minimizes perceived bias, and helps agencies manage large applicant pools without sacrificing responsiveness.
Compliance Meets Speed
One of the most ambitious goals of the new federal hiring framework is reducing time-to-hire to under 80 days—a tall order given historical averages.
Neuroscale argues that AI is the only realistic way to hit that target without compromising fairness. By automating skills assessments, enforcing policy constraints programmatically, and streamlining candidate preparation and engagement, its platforms aim to compress timelines while maintaining auditability.
“Federal agencies need tools that make merit-based hiring not just a policy ideal but an operational reality,” said Ishan Jadhwani, CEO and Founder of Neuroscale AI. He emphasized that the company’s focus on on-premise, compliance-aware AI is designed to meet both the letter and spirit of EO 14170.
Carahsoft’s Strategic Role
From Carahsoft’s perspective, the partnership adds a timely capability to its public sector portfolio.
“With the addition of Neuroscale AI’s solutions, Carahsoft and our reseller partners can now help agencies implement the intent of Executive Order 14170 at scale,” said Edward Walinsky, Sales Director overseeing the Neuroscale team at Carahsoft.
Carahsoft’s endorsement matters. In the federal market, distribution partnerships often determine whether a technology remains niche or becomes standard infrastructure. By aligning with Carahsoft, Neuroscale gains immediate credibility and reach across civilian and defense agencies.
A Broader Trend: AI as Hiring Infrastructure
Zooming out, the deal reflects a broader shift in HR tech—especially in the public sector. AI is no longer being pitched primarily as a productivity enhancer. It’s being framed as governance infrastructure.
In federal hiring, that means AI systems that:
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Encode policy requirements directly into workflows
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Reduce human inconsistency without eliminating human oversight
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Provide defensible, transparent decision trails
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Scale without eroding fairness
Neuroscale’s emphasis on agentic reasoning, security, and constitutional alignment positions it differently from commercial HR AI vendors optimized for speed alone.
The Stakes for Federal Agencies
The success or failure of EO 14170 will likely hinge on execution. Agencies that rely on manual processes or lightly adapted legacy systems may struggle to meet new requirements. Those that invest in purpose-built AI infrastructure could gain a significant advantage—both in hiring speed and public trust.
By combining Neuroscale’s AI platforms with Carahsoft’s procurement reach, this partnership aims to give agencies a practical path forward.
Whether it becomes a reference model for merit-based hiring reform will depend on adoption and outcomes—but the direction is clear. Federal hiring is becoming more skills-based, more transparent, and more technologically mediated.
And AI is no longer optional in making that happen.
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