Yes, it probably does require a clearance. This limits the applicant pool even further. To overcome this, the companies need to pay higher salaries; it's quit

Yes, it probably does require a clearance. This limits the applicant pool even further. To overcome this, the companies need to pay higher salaries; it's quite simple. The fact that they're not willing to pay commensurately higher salaries to attract a narrower labor pool shows there's something seriously wrong. And unlike places like Microsoft or Disney, they can't just offshore their work or bring in a bunch of H1-Bs, because of the requirement for security clearances.