Job Title
Forward Deployed Engineer, U.S. Government
Job Type
Full-Time
Compensation Structure
- Base Salary: $350,000–$500,000 USD annually
- Equity compensation eligibility
- Performance-based bonus opportunities
- Comprehensive benefits package, including:
- Up to 100% reimbursement for health insurance premiums
- Paid Time Off (PTO)
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Additional company-sponsored benefits designed to support a high-performing workforce
Location
Hybrid – Washington, D.C.
Job Summary
We are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to join a high-impact AI team building and deploying next-generation AI systems for U.S. Government missions. This role sits at the intersection of applied AI research, machine learning infrastructure, software engineering, and deployment, requiring both technical depth and customer-facing execution.
You will work across the full lifecycle of AI systems, from experimentation and prototyping to production deployment in mission-critical environments. The role involves partnering directly with government stakeholders to translate operational needs into AI-powered solutions while ensuring reliability, security, and mission success.
Key Responsibilities
- Build and deploy agentic AI systems supporting high-impact U.S. Government missions.
- Design and integrate advanced LLM applications, including multi-agent systems, tool-using agents, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows, and human-in-the-loop autonomy.
- Work directly with government partners in forward-deployed environments to translate mission requirements into technical solutions.
- Build and maintain large-scale data curation, training, and evaluation pipelines.
- Develop infrastructure supporting model inference, experimentation, evaluation, and deployment across frontier AI platforms.
- Create AI systems that transform mission data, models, and operational tools into real-world autonomous capabilities.
- Own systems across the entire lifecycle, including architecture, implementation, deployment, reliability, security, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
- Collaborate closely with research, product, and infrastructure teams to improve AI capabilities and mission outcomes.
Required Skills and Qualifications
- Strong software engineering experience with advanced proficiency in Python.
- Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of technical systems from design through deployment.
- Hands-on experience building applications using Large Language Models (LLMs) and agentic AI systems.
- Experience developing or maintaining machine learning infrastructure and large-scale data pipelines.
- Familiarity with reinforcement learning workflows or simulation environments.
- Ability to operate independently in ambiguous, customer-facing, and mission-driven settings.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and technical communication skills.
- Comfortable working in high-security, high-reliability operational environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- Active U.S. Security Clearance or eligibility and willingness to obtain one.
- Experience supporting U.S. Government, Defense, Intelligence Community, or National Security organizations.
- Prior experience at a startup, defense contractor, government-focused technology company, or related organization.
- Experience operating in mission-critical government environments or fast-moving startup settings.
- Background in AI infrastructure, machine learning systems, distributed systems, or production-scale software platforms.
Benefits
- Competitive base salary ($350,000–$500,000 USD)
- Equity compensation opportunities
- Performance-based bonus eligibility
- Up to 100% reimbursement for health insurance premiums
- Paid Time Off (PTO)
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Additional company-sponsored benefits
Additional Information
This opportunity is ideal for engineers who want to work at the forefront of AI deployment in high-stakes operational environments. You will help design, build, and deploy AI systems that directly support critical government missions while collaborating with end users and stakeholders to ensure mission success. Your work will influence how next-generation AI systems are deployed, evaluated, and trusted in real-world national security and government applications.
Job Type: Contract
Pay: $350,000.00 - $500,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Work Location: Remote
