Forward Deployed Engineer

Innodata; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Innodata seeks a full-stack engineer to build and operate a data platform end-to-end, working closely with customers to deploy in their environments. You’ll spend most of your time shipping features and collaborating with the customers who use the product.

You'll contribute across Rust backend and TypeScript/React frontend, design scalable data models and APIs, and help deploy in cloud, on-prem, and air-gapped networks while growing into a more customer-facing role.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building and shipping production software.
• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility.
• U.S. citizenship required.
• Strong backend skills in Rust; ramp up supported.
• Solid SQL and PostgreSQL fundamentals.
• Proficiency with TypeScript and React.
• Experience deploying and running services with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Strong communication with customers and non-technical stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel to customer sites.

Responsibilities

• Build features end-to-end across Rust backend and TypeScript/React frontend.
• Design data models, APIs, and ingestion pipelines scalable for production.
• Deploy, configure, and support the platform in cloud and customer environments (AWS GovCloud, on-prem Kubernetes, air-gapped networks).
• Build data connectors and integrations that bring customer data into the platform.
• Join customer conversations, demos, and on-site visits; turn feedback into product improvements.
• Contribute to architecture, code quality, performance, and security as the product grows.

Skills

Software development

Backend development

TypeScript/React

SQL/PostgreSQL

Docker/Kubernetes

Customer interaction

Security clearance

Travel readiness

Tools

Rust

TypeScript

React

PostgreSQL

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS GovCloud

Job description

Innodata (Nasdaq: INOD) is a global data engineering company. We believe that data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are inextricably linked. Our mission is to enable the responsible advancement of artificial intelligence by providing the data, evaluation frameworks, and human expertise required to build AI systems that can be trusted at scale. We provide a range of transferable solutions, platforms, and services for Generative AI / AI builders and adopters. In every relationship, we honor our 36+ year legacy delivering the highest quality data and outstanding outcomes for our customers.

About the Role:

We build an advanced data platform that helps demanding enterprise and public-sector customers turn large, complex datasets into high-quality, structured data for AI. We're a small, senior team that values ownership, correctness, and strong engineering. We're hiring a full-stack engineer to help build and operate the product end to end, and to work closely with the customers who use it. You'll spend most of your time building, with regular chances to join customer conversations, help deploy the platform in their environments, and see how it's used in the field. It's a great fit for an engineer who enjoys working with customers and wants to grow into a more customer-facing role.

What You'll Do:

• Build features end to end across our Rust backend and TypeScript/React frontend, from the data model and APIs to a polished, interactive web application.
• Design data models, APIs, and ingestion pipelines that are fast and reliable at scale.
• Help deploy, configure, and support the platform in cloud and customer environments, including AWS GovCloud, on-premises Kubernetes, and air-gapped or classified networks.
• Build data connectors and integrations that bring customer data into the platform and fit it to their workflows.
• Join customer conversations, demos, and occasional on-site visits to understand how the product is used, and turn that feedback into product improvements.
• Contribute to architecture, code quality, performance, and security as the product grows.

What We're Looking For:

• 5+ years building and shipping production software.
• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility (U.S. citizenship required).
• Strong backend skills in a modern systems or application language (we work primarily in Rust; we're happy to help a strong engineer ramp up).
• Solid SQL and PostgreSQL fundamentals — indexing, transactions, and query performance.
• Proficiency with TypeScript and React and an eye for clean, responsive UIs.
• Experience deploying and running services with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Strong communication skills — able to explain technical work clearly to customers and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to travel to customer sites.

Nice to Have:

• Customer-facing, consulting, or solutions-engineering experience.
• Experience deploying software in classified, air-gapped, or other regulated environments.
• AWS/EKS (including GovCloud), infrastructure-as-code, and STIG or RMF experience.
• Experience with data-intensive applications, data pipelines, or Python for data work.
• Familiarity with AI training data, annotation, or data-labeling workflows.

Core Technologies:

• Rust · TypeScript / React · PostgreSQL · Python · cloud object storage · Docker · Kubernetes · AWS (including GovCloud). (Additional components shared during the interview process.)

Eligibility:

• U.S. citizenship and an active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility are required. This role is open to candidates anywhere in the U.S. (remote) or hybrid in the Washington, DC area, with occasional travel to customer sites.