Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Tactical Edge

About the Role

This is a customer-facing engineering role embedded on small, high-autonomy teams that operate like internal startups for specific government and defense customers. You will own the end-to-end deployment of data integration and analytics software onto constrained, on-premises hardware at the tactical edge, including air-gapped and forward-deployed environments. The work is high-stakes, technically demanding, and directly supports national security missions.

What You'll Do

• Deploy and manage containerized applications in tactical edge environments, including air-gapped, on-prem, and edge device configurations.

• Operate and maintain systems running on compact hardware, sometimes as small as a single server blade, with tight resource constraints.

• Debug network and systems issues, review monitors and alerts, manage configuration, load balancing, container orchestration, and software upgrades.

• Provide technical troubleshooting support to forward-deployed customers to ensure timely resolution and minimal operational impact.

• Discuss technical architecture clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Travel to customer sites approximately 25 to 75 percent of the time.

• Work with minimal supervision on high-stakes projects from inception to delivery.

What We're Looking For

• Active US Security Clearance (Secret or Top Secret) required.

• Hands-on experience physically integrating software into hardware systems such as military vehicles, ships, labs, or similar on-prem or edge environments.

• Strong experience deploying and managing containerized applications with Kubernetes (e.g., OpenShift, Rancher).

• Deep Linux systems knowledge including administration, networking, and on-prem infrastructure (CentOS, RHEL, or similar).

• Proficiency in one or more of: Python, Java, Bash, Go, or JavaScript.

• Background in defense contracting, systems integration, or defense technology.

• Familiarity with observability tooling such as Prometheus and Grafana.

• Exposure to enterprise data platforms or forward-deployed software platforms is a plus.

• CS degree or equivalent strong computer science fundamentals.

• No visa sponsorship available; must be authorized to work in the US.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary range: $135,000 to $200,000 USD annually. No visa sponsorship is available for this role.

Location

On-site in the Washington, DC metro area, 4 days per week in office. Relocation support is available for candidates outside the area. Role requires 25 to 75 percent travel to customer locations.