Forward Deployed Engineer

Ultimate Knowledge; Columbia (MD); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Ultimate Knowledge is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer who writes code and engineers distributed cloud-native systems. You will embed with customer teams, deploy Kubernetes workloads, and help customers adopt best practices in GitOps and IaC.

This role requires strong problem-solving, communication, and the ability to work in secure, on-prem, and cloud environments. You will be asked to ship code, build tooling, and debug real distributed systems failures while maintaining pragmatic, low-ego

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience (backend or platform-focused).
• Proficiency in at least one modern backend language (TypeScript, Java, Go, Python).
• Hands-on experience deploying and operating Kubernetes workloads in production.
• Practical experience with GitOps tooling (ArgoCD preferred; Flux acceptable).
• Experience building and maintaining infrastructure-as-code using Terraform, Helm, and/or Kustomize.
• Ability to troubleshoot distributed systems, including container runtime issues, API failures, microservices communication, and networking issues.
• Familiarity with CNI plugins such as Calico, Cilium, or Multus.
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (DNS, TCP/IP, firewalls, proxies, service networking).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred; GovCloud a plus).
• Ability to write automation and tooling in scripting languages (Bash, Shell, Python).
• Experience working directly with customer engineering or IT/SecOps teams.
• Ability to gather requirements, interpret constraints, and adjust implementation plans.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including explanations for non-experts.
• Experience troubleshooting in unfamiliar or partially-documented environments.
• Comfortable in secure, regulated, or on-prem environments with limited visibility.

Responsibilities

• Ship code, build tooling, and write automation for distributed systems in customer environments.
• Debug real distributed-systems failures and mentor customers on GitOps, networking, and IaC practices.
• Collaborate with customer teams, understand constraints, and adapt platform deployments accordingly.
• Work across cloud and on-prem environments, including secure networks and air-gapped environments.

Skills

5+ years software experience

Backend languages

Kubernetes

GitOps tooling

IaC (Terraform/Helm/Kustomize)

Troubleshooting distributed systems

CNI plugins

Networking fundamentals

Cloud platforms (AWS)

Scripting (Bash/Shell/Python)

Customer engagement

Requirements gathering

Communication

Unknown environments troubleshooting

On-prem security

Job description

We?re looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer who is, first and foremost, a software engineer; someone who writes code, reasons about systems, and understands how distributed applications behave in real-world environments. But you?re also the kind of person who enjoys rolling up your sleeves and helping customers succeed directly: embedding with their teams, understanding their constraints, and making complex cloud-native systems actually work in the places they need to run.

You?ll work across cloud and on-prem environments; including secure and classified networks; deploying, adapting, and occasionally adapting our platform to environments that don?t always behave as expected. This is not a traditional DevOps or IT role. You will ship code, build tooling, write automation, debug real distributed-systems failures, and help customers adopt best practices in GitOps, networking, and infrastructure-as-code. Kubernetes is a must have.

We value engineers who are curious, adaptable, empathetic, and calm under ambiguity. You?re the kind of person who can pick up a new tool in a day, learn a customer?s entire system architecture in a week, and become their most trusted technical partner in a month. You have strong opinions (and the experience to back them up) but no ego. You prefer shipping things over polishing them endlessly. And you enjoy the blend of deep technical work, human collaboration, and the occasional ?how on earth is this network even working?? puzzle.

Requirements Must-Have Technical Experience

• 5+ years professional experience as a software engineer (backend or platform-focused).
• Proficiency in at least one modern backend language (TypeScript, Java, Go, Python).
• Hands-on experience deploying and operating Kubernetes workloads in production environments.
• Practical experience with GitOps tooling (ArgoCD preferred; Flux acceptable).
• Experience building and maintaining infrastructure-as-code using Terraform, Helm, and/or Kustomize.
• Ability to troubleshoot distributed systems, including:
  • container runtime issues
  • API failures
  • microservices communication
  • misconfigured networking or CNI behavior
• Familiarity with CNI plugins such as Calico, Cilium, or Multus.
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (DNS, TCP/IP, firewalls, proxies, service networking).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred; GovCloud is a plus but not required).
• Ability to write automation and tooling in scripting languages (Bash, Shell, Python).

Must-Have ?Forward Deployed? Skills

• Experience working directly with customer engineering or IT/SecOps teams.
• Ability to gather requirements, interpret constraints, and adjust implementation plans accordingly.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including technical explanations for non-experts.
• Experience performing technical troubleshooting in unfamiliar or partially-documented environments.
• Comfortable working in secure, regulated, or on-prem environments with limited visibility or access.

Security / Clearance

• Active DoD Secret clearance or higher (TS/SCI strongly preferred, but Secret is minimum).
• Ability to work within DoD, IC, or government security frameworks and deployment requirements.

Mindset / Problem-Solving Expectations

• Highly self-directed?able to navigate ambiguity, set your own plan of attack, and move work forward without relying on rigid processes, prescriptive task lists, or constant guidance.
• Pragmatic problem solver who prefers shipping working solutions to debating theory.
• Capable of working through ambiguity without needing fully defined requirements.
• Low-ego collaborator who can discuss architecture tradeoffs and accept feedback.
• Comfortable balancing ?ideal engineering? with ?what is practical in this customer environment.?

Nice to Have (Preferred)

• Experience delivering software to air-gapped, disconnected, or highly regulated customer environments.
• Hands-on experience with AWS EKS, IAM, VPC/networking, or GovCloud.
• Familiarity with DoD accreditation processes (RMF, NIST 800-53, STIGs).
• Knowledge of service mesh (Istio, Linkerd) or eBPF-based networking.
• Prior experience in a forward-deployed, field engineering, or customer-embedded role.
• Experience with monitoring/observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, EFK).

Location & Engagement

• Position is hybrid preferred. Primary direct support location is Orlando Florida.
• Alternatively, must be willing to travel to Orlando, FL for SAFE AGILE planning, in-person scheduled events, cloud instance support, customer engagement, and user events.
• Client-Facing Experience: Ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, gather requirements, and act as a consultant.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Short and long-term disability coverage for added security.
• Basic life insurance provided by the company.
• Optional supplementary life insurance policy available for additional coverage.
• UKI covers 100% of individual premiums for medical, dental, vision, disability, and basic life insurance.
• A 401k plan with a basic safe harbor matching (up to 4% match with a 5% contribution).
• Enjoy 15 days of PTO annually for vacation or sick leave.
• Benefit from 12 company holidays, aligning with 11 federal holidays, plus Christmas Eve.