Software Engineer

Forward Deployed Engineer (TS/SCI)

Location: Norfolk / Virginia Beach, VA (on-site, 20 to 30% travel)

Salary: $180,000 to $220,000 base depending on level, plus competitive equity

Our client builds software and hardware that help people on the front lines deter and de-escalate conflict with America's adversaries. Their tools support maritime vigilance, counter misinformation and collect non-traditional intelligence, across all U.S. service branches, multiple combatant commands, partner nations and the intelligence community. They have been profitable since 2021.

The team is mission-driven and believes in public service, and they put serious effort into improving the technology the government uses.

The Role

Our client is hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer to be the technical owner for mission-critical national security software deployments. You will sit between engineering and the customer, turning operator requirements into production-grade software deployed directly into government environments. This is hands-on, high-stakes engineering work that shapes U.S. defense outcomes.

What you'll own

• Deploying and sustaining production software inside government and DoD IT environments, end to end from requirements through fielding
• Acting as the primary technical contact for mission owners, operators and intel analysts, turning ambiguous field requirements into shipped software
• Scoping and building low-cost pilots with government mission teams (pre-sales) and running full technical deployments after contract close (post-sales)
• Writing hands-on backend code (Python preferred) across customer use cases, including large-scale text, multimedia and geospatial data
• Navigating government IT ecosystems (RMF, IdAM, SIEM, CDSs) and working with product, design and platform engineering teams

What We're Looking For

• Active TS clearance with SCI eligibility (candidates eligible and willing to obtain clearance may be considered if technically exceptional)
• 4 to 6 years of experience in software engineering, solutions architecture or forward deployed roles within government or DoD environments
• Full-stack engineering experience with strong backend fundamentals, Python preferred (assessed through a backend coding and algorithms interview)
• Proven experience deploying software inside government or DoD IT environments (RMF, IdAM, SIEM, CDSs)
• Ability to own a project end to end in a field-facing or customer-embedded context with minimal oversight
• Willingness to travel 20 to 30% to customer and classified operational sites

Tech stack

Python, React, PostgreSQL, Redis, AWS S3, DoD RMF, Government IT systems (IdAM, SIEM, CDS)

If you are open to finding out more about this position, please apply below and I will be in contact to discuss the position further.