Forward Deployed Engineer (TS/SCI Clearance)

Location
United States
Workplace
Remote
Employment
Full-time
Compensation
$180k – $220k + equity
Visa
No Visa Sponsorship

About this role

We are looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer with 4+ years of experience to serve as the technical owner for mission-critical national security software deployments at Vannevar Labs. You'll sit at the intersection of engineering and customer engagement — translating operator requirements into production-grade software deployed directly into government environments. This is a rare opportunity to do hands-on, high-stakes engineering work that directly shapes U.S. defense outcomes.

What will you be doing?

  • Deploy and sustain production software directly inside government and DoD IT environments, owning delivery end-to-end from requirements through fielding
  • Serve as the primary technical point of contact for mission owners, operators, and intel analysts — translating ambiguous field requirements into shipped software
  • Scope and build low-cost pilots with government mission teams (pre-sales) and execute full technical deployments post-contract close (post-sales)
  • Contribute hands-on backend code (Python-preferred) across customer use cases, including large-scale text, multimedia, and geospatial data
  • Navigate government IT ecosystems (RMF, IdAM, SIEM, CDSs) and collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, and platform engineering teams

Key Requirements

  • Active U.S. TS clearance with SCI eligibility (candidates eligible and willing to obtain clearance may be considered if technically exceptional)
  • 4+ years of full-stack engineering experience with strong backend fundamentals — Python preferred; assessed via backend coding and algorithms interview
  • Demonstrated experience deploying software inside government or DoD IT environments (RMF, IdAM, SIEM, CDSs)
  • Proven ability to own a project end-to-end in a field-facing or customer-embedded context with minimal oversight
  • U.S. citizen based anywhere in the U.S., willing to travel 20–30% to customer and classified operational sites

What happens next

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Confirm the fit

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A meeting lands on your calendar

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Culture & values

Engineering team is small, flat, and mission-obsessed, operating more like focused startups than a traditional defense contractor

Culture defined by high ownership and low bureaucracy

Forward Deployed Engineers run mission workstreams like founders with autonomy over architectural decisions and direct stakeholder interfaces

CTO personally meets with every engineering candidate, reflecting technical leadership's commitment to culture fit

Strong bias toward builders who thrive in ambiguity and can drive work through to deployment without perfectly defined playbooks

Cross-functional and tight-knit collaboration between FDEs, product, design, platform engineering, and mission domain experts

Engineers rewarded for speaking both technical and mission fluency

Team combines world-class software engineers with veteran strategists in intentional blend

Engineers own missions end-to-end from requirements gathering through deployment and sustainment

Fast-paced work environment with genuinely consequential impact

Team operates with startup-level agility while maintaining profitability and staying power

Culture that respects the whole person, not just the engineer

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Benefits

  • 401(k) match
  • Fully paid parental leave
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Child care reimbursement during travel
  • Pet care reimbursement during travel
  • Lifestyle stipends