Forward Deployed Engineer (TS/SCI Clearance Required)

Vannevar; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Remote friendly with WeWork access

Unlimited PTO

401(k) match

Stipends for lifestyle & wellbeing

Military reserve duty top-up

Parental leave

Care reimbursement

Job summary

Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter adversaries. The Forward Deployed Engineer will own mission software from design to deployment for national security missions, working with operators, analysts, and stakeholders in a fully remote role with up to 30% travel.

The role requires 5+ years as a Full Stack Developer, DoD RMF experience, and an active U.S. TS clearance with SCI Eligibility.

Qualifications

• 5+ years as a Full Stack Developer with relational DBs, caching, object storage, and modern front-end frameworks.
• Experience developing with DoD RMF-compliant software.
• Experience interfacing with government IT systems and program offices.
• Active U.S. TS clearance with SCI Eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own software solutions deployed to customer environments for mission-critical use cases.
• Be the primary technical contact for customer stakeholders.
• Own end-to-end delivery from requirements to deployment and sustainment.
• Contribute hands-on code to improve capabilities, performance, and scalability.
• Build software handling large-scale data, including text, multimedia, geospatial in 46 languages.
• Collaborate across cross-functional teams to plan and deliver features.
• Support government artifacts like RFIs, RFPs, SOWs, and white papers.
• Navigate government IT ecosystems ensuring security and compliance.
• Travel up to 20–30% to engage field mission owners.

Skills

Full Stack Dev

Postgres

Redis

S3

React

RMF

Govt IT

Requirements gathering

Communication

Teamwork

TS Clearance

Job description

Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter our adversaries. In the 21st century, conflict moves at algorithmic speed and foresight equals firepower. Our agentic AI is purpose-built to compete with China—from cross-Strait conflict to gray zone coercion. Trained on the most mission-relevant datasets in defense, our technology models adversary behavior, simulates campaigns, and recommends the best course of action to decision makers. Our AI systems are some of the most trusted in the industry and actively used on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific to keep the peace and save lives.

Exceptional technology starts with exceptional people. Vannevar is a small agile team combining world‑class engineers with veteran strategists who bring deep expertise in defense and tradecraft. We’re building a company defined by mission impact, user empathy, and disciplined growth. In just three years, we grew from $3M to $80M in ARR, achieved early profitability, and reached unicorn status—proving that disruption doesn’t require an ego, and staying power doesn’t mean standing still.

About the role

Our Mission teams operate like small startups within the Vannevar Labs umbrella. As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will serve as the technical owner for a mission and its associated customer engagements. You will work directly with operators, analysts, and technical stakeholders supporting national security missions, owning the architecture, development, deployment, and fielding of software solutions tailored to real‑world operational needs.

In this role, you will act as a senior technical counterpart to customer stakeholders — translating mission requirements into scalable software, navigating government technical environments, and ensuring capabilities are delivered reliably into production. You will collaborate closely with product, design, platform engineering, and mission teammates to deliver high‑impact outcomes, while remaining a hands‑on individual contributor.

What you’ll do

• Architect, build, and own software solutions deployed directly to customer environments in support of mission‑critical use cases
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for customer stakeholders, engaging with senior technical leaders to understand mission needs and represent Vannevar’s technical approach
• Own end‑to‑end technical delivery for your mission workstreams, from requirements gathering and system design through implementation, deployment, and sustainment
• Contribute hands‑on code to improve product capabilities, performance, and scalability across customer use cases
• Build software that enables users to unlock value from large‑scale data holdings, including text, multimedia, and geospatial datasets spanning over 46 languages
• Collaborate with cross‑functional partners — including engineers, product designers, and mission domain experts — to plan and deliver complex software features
• Support government‑facing technical artifacts as needed, including input to RFIs, RFPs, Statements of Work, and white papers
• Navigate and integrate with government IT ecosystems, ensuring solutions meet security, compliance, and operational constraints
• This is a fully remote role, but traveling is required - travel up to 20–30% to engage directly with mission owners and deliver capabilities in the field

What you should have

• 5+ years as a Full Stack Developer including familiarity with relational databases (like Postgres), caching technologies (like Redis), object storage systems (like S3), and modern front‑end frameworks (like React)
• Experience developing and deploying software compliant with DoD Risk Management Framework (RMF)
• Experience interfacing with government owned IT systems (for example, data platforms, IdAM providers, SIEM, CDSs, etc)
• Experience working with government IT and program offices to scope technical requirements, architecture, and integrations
• Experience working with end users to scope mission requirements, conduct user testing, and gain product feedback
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills
• Must hold an active U.S. TS Security clearance with SCI Eligibility

What we offer

Comprehensive Benefits

We’re proud to offer competitive benefits that support our employees. Some key highlights of our benefits package include:

• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Remote friendly with WeWork access
• Unlimited PTO, shared downtime during the federal holiday calendar, and company‑wide off time at the end of each year
• 401(k) match
• Lifestyle & wellbeing stipends
• Salary top‑up during military reserve duty
• Fully paid parental leave
• Child and pet care reimbursement during travel

Vannevar is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status.

We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply, even if you don’t feel like you’re a perfect fit. If you’re passionate about contributing to our mission, we’d love to hear from you!