Forward Deployed Engineer

SR2; Greater London; On-site; GBP 128,000 - 168,000; Full time

Job summary

SR2 seeks a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer in London to design and deliver AI capability from concept to customer deployment. You will own end-to-end delivery across cloud-native platforms, including on-prem environments, OpenShift, Kubernetes, and GPU-equipped setups.

You will drive security reviews and documentation while collaborating with senior stakeholders. The role requires hands-on senior coding alongside system architecture leadership, with a focus on delivering robust AI/LLM

Qualifications

• Active DV clearance is required.
• Proven track record delivering into defence projects.
• Principal-level engineering experience with hands-on coding.

Responsibilities

• Take new products from blank page to live, owning them end-to-end.
• Run a cloud-native product on customer environments (on‑prem, OpenShift, Kubernetes, VMs or bare metal).
• Deliver AI/LLM capability including GPU workloads and on-site model serving.
• Ship into secure/air-gapped networks via controlled release processes.
• Lead security work: threat modelling, evidence and accreditation.
• Write documentation and test plans; act as the go-to technical person for senior stakeholders.

Skills

Security clearance

Defence delivery

London onsite

Tools

TypeScript

Node.js

Fastify

Next.js

React

Prisma

PostgreSQL

GCP

OpenShift

Job description

Principal Forward Deployed Engineer | Active DV | London | £800 p/d Outside IR35

I'm looking for a senior, hands-on engineer with real defence delivery experience to build AI capability from scratch and see it all the way through to the customer.

What you'll be doing

• Taking new products from a blank page to live, and owning them the whole way
• Getting a cloud-native product running wherever the customer needs it: on-prem, OpenShift, Kubernetes, VMs or bare metal
• Delivering AI and LLM capability, including GPU workloads and models served on-prem
• Shipping into secure and air-gapped networks through controlled release processes
• Leading the security side: threat modelling, building the evidence and getting systems accredited
• Writing the docs and test plans, and being the go-to technical person for senior stakeholders

Tech you'll use

TypeScript, Node.js, Fastify, Next.js and React, with Prisma and PostgreSQL, on GCP (Cloud Run, Cloud Tasks), plus solid security and IAM experience.

You'll need

• Active DV clearance
• A track record of delivering into defence
• Principal-level experience while still writing code
• To be London-based or able to get on site

Accreditation, OpenShift or GPU model serving.