Forward Deployed Software Engineer

Minerva Defence; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Share options vesting over three years

Bupa private health

6% employer pension contribution

25 days leave plus bank holidays

Enterprise level AI tooling

Relocation support or home office预算

Job summary

Minerva Defence, a UK-based defence tech company, is seeking an engineer to be embedded with customers in operational environments. You will roll out software updates, diagnose networks, and ensure connectivity and security in the field, with direct feedback to core engineering.

The role requires strong Python and Linux skills, plus the ability to work autonomously on-site in the West Midlands and travel to customer sites.

Qualifications

• Proven experience shipping production software (Python preferred).
• Solid grounding in Linux and networking fundamentals with hands-on diagnosis.
• Track record earning the trust of experienced end users through substance and straight talk.
• Able to work on-site in the West Midlands and travel to customer locations autonomously.
• Eligible for UK DV clearance (UK national, typically 10+ years of continuous UK residency).

Responsibilities

• Roll out and manage software updates to deployed field systems over the network.
• Configure, secure and diagnose the networks our systems depend on from setup to live fault-finding.
• Debug Linux systems and connectivity issues on the ground with limited time and tooling.
• Write and maintain Python software, tooling and automation that hold the platform together.
• Act as technical point of contact for operators, translating field issues into fixes.
• Feed real operational issues back to the core engineering team to harden the product.

Skills

Python development

Linux

Networking fundamentals

Troubleshooting

Autonomy

Job description

You won’t be guessing what the customer needs from the other end of the country. You’ll be embedded with them, where the decisions are made.

Minerva Defence is one of the fastest-growing defence technology companies in Europe. We create the software, hardware and networking that make unmanned systems effective on the modern battlefield, all ideated, designed and manufactured end-to-end in the UK, and in active use today. We are deliberately low-profile: a team of around 60, small in headcount and outsized in effect. We look for people who are not just talented but genuinely committed to the work, the team, and the purpose behind it.

You will be embedded with customers in operational environments, the engineer they rely on when our systems are actually in use. Your bug reports will come from someone standing next to you, with the system in their hands and a reason it has to work. The work spans Linux, networking and the software that connects it all: rolling out updates to the systems we already have deployed, keeping connectivity alive and secure wherever they are operating. The problems you solve will come straight from the field, and the fixes you ship will go straight back there. We are looking for engineers with deep technical knowledge and a genuine desire to support the people using our products, not just the products themselves.

Responsibilities

• Roll out and manage software updates to the systems we have deployed in the field, over the network
• Configure, secure and diagnose the networks our systems depend on, from setup through to live fault-finding under pressure
• Debug Linux systems and connectivity issues on the ground, often with limited time and tooling
• Write and maintain the Python software, tooling and automation that hold the platform together
• Act as the technical point of contact for operators, turning field problems into reliable fixes
• Feed real operational issues back to the core engineering team to harden the product

Minimum:

• Proven experience shipping production software; we work mostly in Python, but are language-agnostic for engineers with strong computer-science fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, systems)
• A solid grounding in Linux and networking fundamentals, with hands-on experience diagnosing both
• A track record of earning the trust of experienced, demanding end users on their own terms, through substance and straight talk rather than sales polish
• Able to work on-site in the West Midlands and travel to customer locations, operating with a high degree of autonomy
• Eligible for UK DV clearance (UK national, normally 10 or more years of continuous UK residency)

Preferred:

• Experience operating in deployed or operational environments
• Familiarity with secure or air-gapped network architectures
• Experience shipping software updates to systems already deployed in the field (over-the-air or similar)

The job is demanding enough, so we try to take the everyday pressures off your plate. The benefits are built around that, starting with a genuine stake in what we are building.

• Share options vesting over three years, so you own a real piece of it
• Bupa private health, fully funded from day one
• 6% employer pension contribution
• 25 days leave plus bank holidays, and properly enhanced cover for both parents
• Enterprise level AI tooling, with as many tokens as you need to accelerate your work
• Relocation support if you are moving to join us, or a home office budget if you work remotely

The full detail comes with your offer.