​Code Metal Hackathon: Smart Cities for Special Missions

​March 14-16, 2025 | Code Metal HQ | Downtown Boston

​Where the best minds in special forces, defense, deep tech industry and academia build the future of urban operations and smart city edge applications.

​About the Event

​Join Code Metal for an exclusive, high-stakes hackathon designed to push the boundaries of smart city technology and operations for special missions. This is not your average hackathon—this is where the most talented hackers from U.S. Special Forces, the Department of Defense, MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, and Industry come together to develop cutting-edge solutions.

​With expert speakers and judges from DARPA, the City of Boston, the Army, Air Force, and the Intelligence Community, this is your chance to showcase your skills and compete at the highest level.

​What You’ll Be Building

​Develop innovative solutions that harness existing urban infrastructure—such as IoT sensors, traffic cameras, and RF networks—to:

• ​Create real-time situational awareness for special operations.

• ​Protect personnel from unauthorized tracking while maintaining operational effectiveness.

• ​Analyze urban data streams to detect threats and optimize response capabilities.

• ​Engineer dual-use applications that transform everyday city tech into tactical advantages.

​Speakers for the event include:

• ​Leadership from the City of Boston, who will be speaking on Friday evening

• ​Christine Keung, General Partner at J2 Ventures and Former Chief Data Officer for the City of San Jose, who will be moderating on Friday evening

• ​Eric Rosenbach, the Former Pentagon Chief of Staff and the Director of the Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, who will be providing the Keynote on Friday evening.

​What we Provide:

​Code Metal is arming you with the best tools to build at the edge of innovation:

​🛠 Hardware:

• ​Microcontrollers (ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico)

• ​Microprocessors (Raspberry Pi, Jetson Orin Nano)

• ​SDRs with SoCs/FPGAs

• ​Sensors & Wired Cameras

​🍕 Food & Drinks: Stay fueled with great meals throughout the event.

​🧠 Expert Mentorship: Direct access to specialists from defense, tech, and venture capital.

​🎁 Swag Bags: Code Metal event t-shirts, water bottles, and exclusive merch.

​Prizes

​💰 1st Place – $10,000
💰 Runner-Up – $4,000
💰 2nd Runner-Up – $2,000

​Event Highlights

​🍸 Friday Night Cocktail Reception: Kick off the weekend with networking and high-level conversations.

​🏆 Sunday Judging Panel: Your work will be evaluated by top leaders from DoD, venture capital, and the tech industry.

​Who Should Apply?

​We’re looking for elite problem-solvers who thrive in high-stakes environments.

​✅ Special Forces & DoD Cyber Operators
✅ MIT, Harvard, and Northeastern Research Labs
✅ Industry Experts in AI, Cybersecurity, and Embedded Systems
✅ Top Engineers and Technologists from Defense and Smart Infrastructure

​How to Get In

​🔹 Tell us how you want to participate in your application.
🔹 Team Size: 3-5 members.
🔹 Finalists will be selected based on expertise and invitation.

​🚀 Think you have what it takes? Apply now and prove it.