The Colorado operations of Raytheon are growing.

The aerospace and defense contractor completed a merger with United Technologies Corp. earlier this year to form Raytheon Technologies. In an internal reshuffling, the intelligence part of the business based in Aurora combined with the company’s space business to create Raytheon Intelligence and Space.

As a result, Raytheon is hiring 200 new people just in Colorado, said Bill Sullivan, a vice president and general manager in Aurora, the headquarters for the new space arm of the company.

“Everything our company does in space hardware or software-based ground control systems are going to be led out of this facility in Colorado,” Sullivan said. “We’re looking for all types of folks” to hire.

They are looking for software developers, system-level software engineers, and people who can integrate commercially available software packages for customers, develop cloud-based systems and who understand cyber security.

“With all the systems that we build for our customers, the cyber security of those systems is paramount,” Sullivan said.

The coronavirus pandemic created logistical challenges for the roughly 2,500 employees who work on Raytheon’s campus in east Aurora. Those doing classified work must work from the office, while those who don’t can work from home.

Sullivan, who switches back and forth from office to home, said about 50% of the workspace is being used. He said protective barriers have been put up, and masks and temperature checks are required to help keep people safe. Virtual meetings are replacing in-person ones.

While the coronavirus has presented Raytheon with some of the same challenges faced by all businesses, it hasn’t slowed the company’s growth. Sullivan said business is robust across the aerospace industry. The designation of Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs as the provisional headquarters of the U.S. Space Command was a boost for the state’s industry, Sullivan said.

Raytheon employs about 2,800 people in Colorado, including 200 at a satellite facility in Aurora and others who work with the military in Colorado Springs. The Air Force is one of Raytheon’s major clients. The company developed the ground-control system for the new generation of the Air Force’s global positioning system satellites, three of which have been launched.

The company also builds ground command and control systems and processes data for NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other federal agencies.

In February, representatives from Raytheon and several other aerospace companies met with the state on ways to meet the growing demand for employees in Colorado. The size of the state’s aerospace industry is second only to California’s.

Sullivan said aerospace workers, especially those in cyber security, are in high demand. But he figures the lure of living in Colorado gives Raytheon one edge. And there’s another.

“What we bring to the table, from Raytheon’s perspective, is the work we do here is really cool. Space control is really cool,” Sullivan said.

This story has been updated to clarify that Raytheon’s new space business is headquartered in Aurora.

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