Forward Deployed Engineer

jobs.frontdoordefense.com - Jobboard; Dayton (OH); On-site; USD 143,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Istari is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer in Dayton, Ohio, to deploy software solutions in aerospace and defense environments. This role involves embedding with customer teams, developing integration architectures, and serving as the primary technical contact, translating experience into valuable product insights.

Ideal candidates are strong software engineers with experience in digital engineering toolchains like CAD and FEM. U.S. citizenship is required.

Salary ranges from $143,000 to $165,000 per year.

Qualifications

• Production-quality code with strong architectural decisions.
• Hands-on experience with CAD, CFD, FEM, or related environments.
• Ability to work without a lot of guidance in fast-moving contexts.

Responsibilities

• Embed with customer engineering teams to understand workflows.
• Architect software solutions that integrate Istari's platform.
• Serve as the primary technical interface for the customer.
• Translate field experience into actionable product insights.
• Contribute to internal engineering reviews and planning.

Skills

Strong software engineering fundamentals

Experience with digital engineering toolchains

Comfort operating in ambiguous environments

Ability to work on-site with U.S. customers

U.S. citizenship

Job description

Forward Deployed Engineer

Location: Dayton, Ohio, United States

Compensation: $143,000 - 165,000 USD per year

About The Role

Istari's software doesn't just get handed off; it gets deployed into some of the most complex engineering environments in aerospace and defense. As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll be embedded directly inside our customer organizations, operating as part of their team while remaining tightly connected to Istari's product and engineering core.

This is not a support role. You are a builder. You'll write real code, architect integrations, and solve hard problems at the intersection of digital engineering workflows and mission‑critical operations. The challenges you tackle demand the mindset of a strong software engineer and the adaptability of someone who thrives in unstructured environments, such as connecting CAD, CFD, FEM pipelines to Istari's platform; unlocking cross‑discipline collaboration; enabling organizations to use the tools they've invested in.

You will work alongside Istari Program Managers who are embedded in the same customer environments. They provide program context and stakeholder relationships while you own the technical execution. Together, you operate as a unit capable of handling almost anything a customer throws at you. The best Forward Deployed Engineers make our product smarter, not just our customers happier.

What You'll Do

Onsite Technical Delivery

• Embed with customer engineering teams to understand their workflows, data environments, and technical constraints.
• Architect and build software solutions that integrate Istari's platform into existing digital engineering ecosystems (CAD, CFD, FEM, simulation pipelines, and related toolchains).
• Serve as the primary technical interface for the customer – proactively identifying where our software can drive more value.

Software Development

• Develop, test, and maintain integrations and workflow solutions following modern software engineering practices.
• Write clean, maintainable code that can be productized or reused across customer deployments.
• Contribute to internal tooling and documentation that scales your knowledge across the team.

Feedback Loop to Product

• Translate field experience into actionable product insights – one of Istari's clearest signals on what customers actually need.
• Participate in internal engineering reviews, architecture discussions, and roadmap planning.
• Help develop proposals and technical approaches for new customer opportunities.

Qualifications

Required

• Strong software engineering fundamentals – you write production-quality code and can defend your architectural decisions.
• Hands-on experience with digital engineering toolchains: CAD, CFD, FEM, or related simulation and modeling environments.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments without a lot of hand-holding.
• Ability to work on-site with customers in a U.S. defense or aerospace context (clearance eligibility required; active clearance a strong plus).
• U.S. citizenship required.

Preferred

• Experience integrating engineering software into larger data or workflow platforms.
• Background in aerospace, defense, or other systems-engineering-heavy industries.
• Exposure to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) or digital thread / digital twin concepts.
• Exposure to or direct experience with advanced CAD, CFD, or FEM tools.

Why This Role

The engineers who excel in this position become some of the most technically well‑rounded people in the industry. You'll see how large, complex organizations actually work – not just the happy path. You'll build things that get used immediately. And because you report into Istari's Customer Success org (not a sales or account team), your career trajectory stays technical.

You will also have the Istari team behind you: regular syncs, access to internal engineering resources, and a clear path to influence the product you deploy.

Istari is a digital engineering software company building open, scalable infrastructure for engineering data. Our platform lets customers simply and securely integrate engineering models across disciplines, organizations, and security levels — whether they're designing prototypes, performing virtual testing, or training AI and autonomy for complex systems.

$143,000 - $165,000 a year