/roles — ROLE_414
Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Tactical Edge
Established data-platform company deploying its software on compact edge hardware for defense customers
The role
- COMP
- $135K - $200K
- EQUITY
- Competitive
- LOCATION
- Washington DC · New York
- WORKPLACE
- On-site
- EXPERIENCE
- 2 - 5 years
- VISA
- None
- STACK
- Docker, Kubernetes, K8s, Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, Prometheus, Grafana
- INDUSTRY
- Software Development, Government, Defense, Data
The company
Large, publicly traded software company whose data integration and analytics platforms help governments, militaries, and major enterprises run critical operations.
- STAGE
- public-scale
- FUNDING
- public-scale
- TEAM
- 1,000+ people
- BACKING
- backed by Goldman Sachs
JD — the work
About the role
You would work on a small customer-facing team, a few engineers plus non-technical teammates, that runs much like its own small startup serving a single customer and decides which parts of the company's broad software suite to deploy for them. The twist is that everything runs on compact on-prem hardware, sometimes just one server blade, that travels globally with forward-deployed units. That means fitting software into tight resource budgets, reallocating resources as priorities change, and supporting systems you cannot physically reach. It takes wide range, independence, and grit.
What you'll do
- Work on a small, mixed team that acts like a startup dedicated to one customer
- Pick which of the company's products that customer needs, then deploy them
- Squeeze the software onto small on-prem hardware, sometimes just one blade, under tight resource limits
- Shift compute dynamically according to the customer's workflow priorities
- Roll out, watch over, and support systems that travel with field units worldwide, often with no physical access
What they're looking for
- 2 to 5 years of software engineering, including hands-on hardware integration
- A computer science degree is required
- Proficiency in one or more of Go, Python, JavaScript, Java, or Bash
- Deep Linux skills, including system administration, networking, and running on-prem infrastructure
- Background at a defense tech company, a defense contractor, or a systems integrator
- In the DC area or ready to move there; office four days a week, with 25% to 75% travel
Nice to have
- Hands-on installs of software into ships, military vehicles, labs, or other edge sites
- Deploying and running containerized applications on Kubernetes
- An active Secret or TS clearance
- Familiarity with software platforms built for forward deployment