Forward Deployed Engineer Software

Front Door Defense; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 143,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Istari Digital is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to embed with customer teams in Seattle, delivering code, integrations, and technical leadership for mission-critical engineering workflows.

You will work on-site in defense/aerospace contexts, shaping digital engineering pipelines while aligning with Istari's product and engineering teams to maximize value for customers.

Qualifications

• Production-quality code and defend architectural decisions.
• Experience with digital engineering toolchains: CAD, CFD, FEM or related environments.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Ability to work on-site with customers in a U.S. defense or aerospace context (clearance eligibility; active clearance a plus).
• U.S. citizenship is required.

Responsibilities

• Onsite Technical Delivery: Embed with customer engineering teams to understand workflows and constraints.
• Architect and build integrations of Istari platform into customer toolchains (CAD/CFD/FEM workflows).
• Serve as the primary technical interface for customers and identify where software adds value.

Skills

Software engineering

Digital engineering toolchains

Ambiguity tolerance

On-site with defense/aerospace

U.S. citizenship

Tools

CAD

CFD

FEM

Job description

Forward Deployed Engineer

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

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

Job Tags: Software

Overview

Embed with customer teams to deploy and integrate Istari platform into their engineering workflows. Istari's software is deployed into complex engineering environments in aerospace and defense. As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you are embedded inside customer organizations, operating as part of their team while remaining closely connected to Istari's product and engineering core. This is a builder role where you will write real code, architect integrations, and solve hard problems at the intersection of digital engineering workflows and mission-critical operations.

You will work alongside Istari Program Managers who are embedded in the same customer environments. 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.

Responsibilities

• 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 — you are a key signal 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

Required Qualifications

• 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 Qualifications

• 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 do this job well 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. Since you report into Istari's Customer Success org (not a sales or account team), your career trajectory stays technical. You’ll have the Istari team behind you with regular syncs, access to internal engineering resources, and a clear path to influence the product you deploy.

About Istari Digital

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

Focus is rewarded. Finish is remembered. Facts are friendly. Fellowship is fundamental. Make others successful.

Compensation Note

$143,000 - $165,000 a year. The anticipated compensation range for this position may vary based on experience, skills, qualifications, location, and business needs. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for bonuses, equity, and a comprehensive benefits package.