Forward Deployed Software Engineer

GovWell Technologies Inc.; New York, Northern (NY, KY); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

GovWell in New York City is hiring Forward Deployed Software Engineers to sit inside our most complex enterprise deals. You will diagnose blockers, build targeted fixes, and decide what becomes reusable code.

This role travels to key municipalities and requires strong product judgment, a SaaS background, and excellent communication with senior stakeholders. As part of a high-ownership engineering team, you will work closely with customers and our product team to deliver impactful deployments

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience as a full-stack or forward deployed engineer in a production SaaS environment.

Responsibilities

• Unblock complex enterprise deployments by diagnosing and resolving blockers during high-stakes launches.
• Partner with Sales and Deployment on late-stage deals, providing technical feasibility judgments and credibility with municipal stakeholders.
• Travel to complex or high-value municipalities to understand constraints firsthand.
• Build targeted code or configuration when necessary and generalize bespoke fixes into reusable platform components.
• Translate recurring enterprise requirements into scalable abstractions to shape roadmap decisions.
• Know when to build, when to configure, and when to push back to protect the core platform.

Skills

Full-stack engineering

Forward deployed

SaaS

Deployment experience

TypeScript/Node

Job description

Better government starts with better technology. GovWell is building the AI operating system transforming how governments in 40+ states serve their communities. Join our movement to help Americans believe in government again.

Help Americans believe in government again

INTERVIEW

What it’s like
to build at GovWell

Hear directly from our team about the problems we’re solving, how we work, and the ways we’re improving how governments serve their communities.

Built in NYC

From New York City,
for communities across the country

We work together from our New York City headquarters 3 to 5 days a week. Being in the same place helps us move faster, collaborate more effectively, and build lasting relationships.

Central Manhattan HQ

Our office is located in the heart of Manhattan overlooking Madison Square Park, providing easy access to major transit hubs as well as world class dining and entertainment.

Autonomy for all

While in-person is our default, we don't mandate specific days. Team members have the trust and flexibility to work the schedule that works best for them.

OURTEAM

“Growing up, I helped my dad apply for hundreds of construction permits. Those frustrating experiences inspired me to found GovWell to build better solutions for the millions of tradespeople whose livelihoods depend on getting permits fast.”

CTO and Co-Founder

“Being raised by two public servants, my parents showed me early that meaningful change starts in local government and ripples outward. I’m incredibly proud to be part of GovWell and to support the people who serve their communities, helping make their work easier so residents receive the service they deserve.”

Senior Deployment Strategist

“My work has included building tools for election administration and public health during the pandemic. I joined GovWell to keep applying those skills to systems people rely on when it matters most.”

Software Engineer

“After working on presidential and Senate campaigns and alongside local governments, I wanted to focus on impact beyond elections. GovWell is where I can help improve how government works year after year.”

Account Executive

“Before GovWell, I ran operations on presidential campaigns, where nothing works unless the systems do. Now I help build the operational backbone public service needs to function day to day.”

"I spent years working with designers and planners, hearing the same frustration over and over: why is permitting so hard? With GovWell, we’re building the solution."

Public service mission,
with private sector perks

Great achievements require extraordinary talent. We invest in our people so you can focus on doing the best work of your career at GovWell.

01

• Competitive cash compensation

We hire exceptional people to make public sector impact, with competitive private sector compensation.

02

• Equity ownership

Every GovWell team member is an equity owner. When the company succeeds, we all share in the upside.

03

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, with up to 100% of premiums covered for you and your partner.

04

• 401(k) savings plan

We offer flexible retirement options so you can plan ahead confidently and stay in control.

05

• Unlimited time off

We trust people to manage their time and encourage taking time off to rest, recharge, and stay effective.

06

• Hybrid work environment

While we work together in person most days, we believe in providing all employees the autonomy and flexibility to work from home when needed.

07

• Meals, snacks, and team time

A fully stocked kitchen, drinks on hand, and monthly team events and gatherings sponsored by us.

Who we are

We are uncomfortable with stasis. We believe a good life means striving vigorously towards difficult goals that challenge us to realize our full potential. We value colleagues who inspire and motivate us to level up. We seek and value feedback from others.

See open roles

Forward Deployed Software Engineer

Location

New York, NY

Full time

Location Type

Department

Compensation

We the people — and the taxpayers — deserve good government. Yet today, interacting with government services is often frustrating and inefficient. GovWell is building the AI operating system transforming how governments serve communities, starting with local agencies.

GovWell replaces legacy software for municipalities and counties, empowering public servants to radically streamline public services and cut internal processing time for permits and licenses by up to 95%.

Founded in 2023, GovWell powers 5,000+ mission-critical processes for agencies in 35+ states serving millions of residents. The company has raised $35M in funding from Insight Partners, Work-Bench, and Bienville Capital, and the team works in person at GovWell HQ in New York City. Read more about our founding story in TechCrunch .

GovWell is hiring Forward Deployed Software Engineers to sit inside our most complex enterprise deals — the ones where a county's 20-year-old permitting system, a workflow no vendor has handled before, or a migration off legacy systems is standing between a signed contract and a working deployment.

This role exists because our biggest municipalities don't fit a template. You'll go on-site, diagnose what's actually blocking the launch, build the targeted fix when one is needed, and then decide what part of that fix should become a permanent, reusable piece of the platform rather than a one-off. Get this right and you turn a complex deal into a referenceable customer. Get it wrong and you either miss the deal or bury the core product in bespoke debt.

This is a hands-on, high-ownership engineering role based in NYC (3+ days per week in office), with travel as needed for key customers.

A mission that matters: Building AI-powered products to fix outdated government systems isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a historic opportunity to improve our foundational relationship with government and ensure trillions of tax dollars result in high quality services. WATCH: Mission & Vision with CEO & Co-Founder Troy LeCaire

Real-world impact: GovWell’s product is the system of record for government services that affect millions of Americans. From streamlining permitting for small businesses to accelerating affordable housing development, your work will make an immediate difference.

Join a startup in hyper-growth: We’ve found product-market fit and are scaling the business very quickly (4X ARR growth in the last year). As an early team member, you’ll learn what it takes to build a successful startup. You’ll work closely with the founders while enjoying exceptional autonomy and ownership over your work.

What you’ll do

Unblock complex enterprise deployments by diagnosing and resolving technical and workflow blockers during high-stakes launches — including migrations off legacy systems

Partner with Sales and Deployment on late-stage deals, providing technical feasibility judgment and credibility with senior municipal stakeholders.

Travel to complex or high-value municipalities to understand constraints firsthand and accelerate execution.

Build targeted code or configuration when necessary — but treat every bespoke fix as a candidate for productization, not a permanent one-off.

Translate recurring enterprise requirements into scalable abstractions, and elevate the durable ones back to core teams to shape roadmap decisions.

Know when to build, when to configure, and when to push back — your judgment directly protects the core platform from fragmenting under enterprise pressure.

Who you are

5+ years of experience as a full-stack or forward deployed engineer in a production SaaS environment.

Strong product judgment with a track record of deciding when to build, abstract, configure, or push back.

Experience working on customer-facing deployments, integrations, or migration-heavy environments.

Effective communicator with executive-facing credibility — you can hold your own in a room with a municipal CIO or department head.

Comfortable operating under ambiguity and owning high-impact, revenue-sensitive problems.

Strong coding ability in TypeScript/Node or similar.

Startup-oriented operator who moves quickly without over-engineering.

Compensation within the posted salary band will be commensurate with experience. All offers will include:

Below: a picture of the entire GovWell team celebrating our Series A with a boat cruise on the Hudson!

Compensation Range: $200K - $300K

GovWell in the news

GovWell Raises $25M Series A Led by Insight Partners to Build the AI Operating System for Modern Government