Forward Deployed Engineer

About the company

Our client is a defense technology company.

The role

Raydar is recruiting for this role on behalf of our client. Own the technical side of software rollouts inside secure government environments, working closely with end users to shape their needs into dependable production solutions. The work runs from early pilots through full deployment and long-term support, with substantial hands-on backend development.

What you'll do

- Deploy and sustain production software within secure government IT environments, owning delivery from requirements through fielding.

- Act as the main technical contact for mission owners, operators and analysts, turning loosely defined needs into working software.

- Scope and build small pilots before a contract is signed, then run full technical deployments afterward.

- Write backend code, preferably in Python, to support customer use cases involving large volumes of varied data.

- Work through government IT compliance and infrastructure requirements while partnering with colleagues across product, design and platform teams.

Requirements

What we're looking for

- Active U.S. TS clearance with SCI eligibility; clearance-eligible U.S. citizens willing to obtain one may be considered if technically exceptional.

- At least 4 years of software engineering experience across front end and back end, with a solid grounding in backend development, algorithms and coding.

- Background in a defense technology company, cleared contractor or government-adjacent role, either as a pre-sales engineer who scoped pilots and proofs of concept, or as a customer-facing software engineer who deployed production software in government IT environments.

- Experience working directly with operators, analysts or government program offices to scope requirements and conduct user testing.

- Track record of independently driving projects from start to finish while embedded with customers.

- U.S. citizenship, with willingness to travel regularly to customer and operational sites, roughly a quarter of the time.

Bonus points

- Familiarity with the DoD Risk Management Framework and government IT systems such as identity management, security monitoring and cross-domain solutions.

- Python proficiency and familiarity with a common full-stack toolset such as React and Postgres.

Benefits

Compensation and benefits

- Base salary: USD 180,000 to 220,000 per year

- Equity

- Health, dental and vision coverage

- Unlimited paid time off

- Paid parental leave

- Wellness and lifestyle stipends

Location and work model

- Norfolk / Virginia Beach, VA, United States

- On-site, with 20-30% travel to customer sites

- Full-time