Fde SWE

Forward Deployed Software Engineer

Location: Washington, DC (hybrid) — up to 50% travel, domestic and OCONUS

Clearance: Active DoD Secret clearance or higher required at time of hire

Employment Type: Full-time, salaried, with full benefits

The Company & Mission:

We're partnering with an early-stage, venture-backed startup founded by three former Palantir engineers (along with PreVeil alumni) who spent years inside government orgs watching them drown in paperwork, unable to share information within their own walls, let alone across agencies. They left to build the tool they wished existed — AI-powered software that lets defense and government teams search, review, and move through document-heavy workflows without sacrificing accuracy or security.

They're small and early by design — every engineer who joins now will shape the architecture, the product, and the culture for years to come. You'd be working shoulder-to-shoulder with founders who've lived this problem and mission partners who need it solved, not a committee reviewing a roadmap.

What This Role is All About:

As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll sit at the intersection of engineering and customer partnership — onsite with customers regularly, building trust, diagnosing real needs, and translating feedback directly into shipped product. You're still fundamentally an engineer: writing code, debugging systems, and helping shape the architecture of a platform built on LLMs and modern AI application techniques. But you're just as comfortable in a customer briefing room as you are in a terminal.

This role is for someone energized by owning the full loop — understand the problem, build the solution, deploy it, and watch it create value in real time. You'll work on a small, tight-knit team, communicate complex technical concepts to users with varying levels of technical fluency, and help shape the company's culture and direction as an early team member. Impact is measured by outcomes, not activity.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Go onsite to customer environments to configure, optimize, and support ConductorAI software — customizing workflows and troubleshooting for specific customer use cases


• Write and maintain production-quality code in Python and TypeScript on a small engineering team


• Work directly with users to gather feedback, understand workflows, and translate insights into product requirements


• Debug and improve system reliability, performance, and usability based on real-world customer usage


• Build and deliver technical demonstrations to new and existing customers


• Collaborate with product and engineering to develop new features, with a direct line from customer need to shipped capability


• Identify opportunities to automate manual processes and improve operational efficiency at customer sites


• Contribute to company strategy, culture, and evolving responsibilities as a core early team member

What You Bring:

• Active DoD Secret clearance or higher, required at time of hire due to the classified nature of the work


• U.S. citizenship required (ITAR/EAR); unable to consider green card holders or sponsor visas for this role


• 2+ years of professional software engineering or forward deployed engineering experience


• Proficiency in Python and TypeScript


• Experience working directly with end users or customers in a technical capacity


• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including explaining technical concepts to non-technical audiences


• Comfort operating with high autonomy in ambiguous, fast-moving environments


• Experience with LLMs and modern AI application techniques


• Ability to travel up to 50% domestically and OCONUS

Bonus Points:

• Active TS or TS/SCI clearance


• Experience in defense, intelligence, or national security environments


• Experience at an early-stage startup or in fast-moving, ambiguous environments


• Background in system design or full-stack development


• Existing relationships with DoD or civil agency stakeholders

Benefits:

• Define your own role and roadmap as the organization scales


• Comprehensive healthcare, 401(k), and unlimited PTO


• Monthly reimbursement for home internet and phone (up to $150)


• Parental leave: 4 months birthing parent, 3 months non-birthing


• $100/month wellness stipend


• WeWork membership access