"Highly qualified IT professionals are of great demand in any sector of the economy but the extent to which the private sector is able to hire top performers affords private companies an advantage in attracting the best and brightest in IT," wrote VanRoekel, in a White House blog post.

The Technology Fellows program "presents young people with a prestigious option when coming out of their respective graduate programs," said VanRoekel, a former longtime Microsoft executive.

People selected for the program will be given rotational assignments in the government, "and gain in-depth experience in managing large and complex IT programs." must be filed by Sept. 25.