A Colorado-based contractor that provides space-based defense and national security services is ramping up its operations in the D.C. region with plans for a new East Coast headquarters in Reston.
Auria has committed to investing $1.8 million to establish the Fairfax County base, which is expected to bring 78 jobs and supplement an existing office in Warrenton, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) announced on Tuesday (Oct. 27).
“Auria’s decision to expand its presence in the Commonwealth reflects confidence in our business environment, strategic location, and our continued support of innovative aerospace and defense companies,” Spanberger said in a press release. “My Administration looks forward to a longstanding partnership with Auria as the company expands, creates dozens of new jobs for Virginians, and advances technologies that support our national security.”
The company has leased 18,501 square feet of space in the Summit I office building at 2000 Edmund Halley Drive, Suite 600, for its East Coast headquarters, an Auria spokesperson told FFXnow.
Expected to open by mid-2027, the new office will center around a “mission integration lab” where employees can develop and test new technologies and services alongside Auria’s clients and partners.
“Hiring is already underway and will continue going forward,” the spokesperson said, noting that positions based in the Reston office will include space systems engineering, corporate infrastructure support, and product and business development.
Currently, Auria employs approximately 510 people in total, including roughly 80 workers at its Warrenton campus who are involved in hardware development, factory testing and shipping, classified operations, waveform engineering and digital ground stations.
According to the Washington Business Journal, Auria was created in 2024 by the Chevy Chase investment firm Enlightenment Capital out of a merger of four of its recently acquired companies: the defense contractor Boecore, satellite engineering company Ascension Engineering Group, aerospace mission planning and scheduling solutions company Orbit Logic, and the cybersecurity firm La Jolla Logic.
The resulting company provides software, cybersecurity and communications technology for satellites and missiles, counting NASA, Space Force and intelligence agencies among its customers.
Auria maintains a corporate headquarters in Colorado Springs, where both Boecore and Ascension Engineering were based, but Northern Virginia is becoming its “largest employment footprint,” according to CEO Damian DiPippa.
As a result, Reston emerged as a “natural choice” for an East Coast headquarters to complement the operations in Warrenton as well as the Colorado Springs headquarters, he said.
“We are thrilled to be opening a new facility that strengthens our ability to collaborate with nearby customers and partners while providing a world-class mission integration center for our team to develop, test, demonstrate, and integrate the advanced command, control, and mission integration capabilities on which our national security customers depend,” DiPippa said.
He thanked Spanberger and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership for their support. The partnership worked with the FCEDA to secure the project for Reston and will provide consulting services and funding to Auria for its employee recruitment and training activities as part of the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.
Local officials said Auria’s selection of Reston for its East Coast headquarters affirms Northern Virginia’s strength as an employment base for the defense, intelligence and space industries, which continue to have a robust presence in the region despite more general economic uncertainty due to federal government workforce and contract cuts.
“Auria’s decision to grow in Fairfax County reflects the strength of our region’s space and defense ecosystem, exceptional talent base, and proximity to the federal partners advancing our nation’s most critical missions,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in an FCEDA press release.
According to FCEDA data, Fairfax County remains home to companies that secured $41.4 billion in federal contracts in fiscal year 2025. In recent months, the technology contractors MetroStar and Data Machines both announced plans to expand their operations in Reston, and the Israeli rifle sighting manufacturer Smart Shooter opened an office in the Herndon area.
“Auria’s investment in Reston is welcome news for Fairfax County and the people who will build their careers here,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said. “We are honored that the company has chosen the Hunter Mill District for this next phase of growth, bringing its innovative work closer to the exceptional talent, partners, and connected community that make Reston a natural home for companies building the future of space operations.”
