SWE, Tactical Edge

Forward Deployed Software Engineer – Tactical Edge (On-Prem Infrastructure)

Washington, DC | New York, NY

$135,000 - $200,000

We're hiring a Forward Deployed Software Engineer for a customer-facing infrastructure role. You'll be embedded on small, high-performing teams deploying and maintaining cutting-edge systems in tactical edge environments-on-prem, air-gapped, resource-constrained deployments.

What You'll Do

• Deploy and maintain Kubernetes-based infrastructure in tactical edge environments (on-prem, air-gapped, edge devices)

• Own end-to-end execution of critical infrastructure projects with minimal supervision

• Provide operational support: debugging network and systems issues, monitoring, configuration management, load balancing, container orchestration, and upgrades

• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues for forward-deployed customers with minimal downtime

• Manage resource constraints: fit software within tight hardware limitations and dynamically allocate based on customer priorities

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure reliability, scalability, performance, and security in resource-constrained environments

• Discuss technical architecture with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Travel to customer sites (~25% of the time) to deploy, configure, and support systems

What We're Looking For

Required:

• 2–5 years professional software engineering experience with hands-on hardware integration

• Strong proficiency with Linux systems (CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux)

• Solid programming skills in Java, Python, Bash, JavaScript, Go, or similar languages

• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes (OpenShift, Rancher) and container orchestration

• Experience deploying and maintaining systems in production environments

• Experience with monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana)

• Active US Security clearance OR eligibility and willingness to obtain one

• Ability to travel ~25% to customer locations

Valued:

• Experience with on-prem or edge deployments

• Knowledge of air-gapped or resource-constrained environments

• DOD 8570 IAT Level II certification (CISSP, Security , etc.)

• Unix/Linux certifications (Linux , RHCE)

• Experience working in small, high-autonomy teams

• Background in infrastructure, DevOps, or systems engineering

Why This Role

You'll work with elite customers solving mission-critical infrastructure challenges where your decisions directly impact operational success. This is infrastructure at scale, managing resource constraints, ensuring reliability in austere environments, and supporting systems you deployed yourself. You'll have significant autonomy, technical depth, and the satisfaction of seeing real-world impact.

Details

• Work arrangement: On-site (DC preferred, NYC possible—5 days/week)

• Travel: ~25% to customer deployment sites

• Visa sponsorship: Not available

• Security clearance: Required or obtainable

• Equity: Competitive (RSUs)