Head of Forward Deployed Engineering

Motion Recruitment Partners LLC; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

401(k)

Paid Vacation & Holidays

Equity

Job summary

Motion Recruitment Partners LLC is seeking a Head of Forward Deployed Engineering for an early-stage defense AI startup. You will lead a team bringing cutting-edge AI technology into national security environments, collaborating closely with users while building scalable solutions using Python, TypeScript, cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, and distributed systems.

You'll recruit, mentor, and grow a high-performing team and play a major role shaping the engineering organization and product.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3+ years in forward-deployed or heavily customer-facing environments.
• Experience leading teams.
• Strong software development background using Python, Go, TypeScript, or similar languages.
• Experience building cloud-native applications on AWS or Kubernetes.
• Ability to work directly with customers, understand complex operational problems, and translate them into scalable software solutions.
• Experience mentoring, and growing engineering teams.
• Strong communication skills with executive-level customers and internal leadership.
• Startup or high-growth company experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a forward-deployed engineering team delivering scalable AI-enabled solutions.
• Partner closely with customers to understand mission problems and translate them into software.
• Shape engineering strategy and collaborate with product leadership and customers to align on roadmaps.

Skills

Team leadership

Python

Go

TypeScript

Cloud AWS

Kubernetes

Forward deployed

Customer facing

Executive communication

Security clearance

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

Job description

An early-stage defense AI startup building autonomous AI agents for national security and federal mission environments is hiring aHead of Forward Deployed Engineering. You'll lead the team responsible for bringing cutting-edge AI technology into customer environments, partnering closely with users while building scalable solutions using Python, TypeScript, modern AI frameworks, cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, and distributed systems.

This is a unique opportunity to build and lead one of the company's most strategic engineering organizations from the ground up. You'll recruit, mentor, and grow a high-performing team while remaining close to customers solving real-world mission problems. They're looking for someone who has led forward deployed, solutions engineering, or customer-facing engineering teams in fast-moving environments and enjoys operating where technical leadership, product strategy, and customer success intersect. As the company grows, you'll play a major role in shaping both the engineering organization and the future of the product.

Required Skills & Experience

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3+ years in forward-deployed or heavily customer-facing environments
• Experience leading teams
• Strong software development background using Python, Go, TypeScript, or similar languages
• Experience building cloud-native applications on AWS or Kubernetes
• Ability to work directly with customers, understand complex operational problems, and translate them into scalable software solutions
• Experience mentoring, and growing engineering teams
• Strong communication skills with executive-level customers and internal leadership
• Startup or high-growth company experience strongly preferred

Desired Skills & Experience

• Experience supporting defense, intelligence, or federal government customers
• Experience with AI/LLMs, agentic AI systems, or machine learning platforms
• Familiarity with distributed systems and modern infrastructure platforms
• Previous experience at companies such as Palantir, Anduril, Scale AI, OpenAI, or similar mission-driven technology organizations
• Having an active security clearance at TS or above

You will receive the following benefits:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid Vacation & Holidays
• Equity
• Opportunity to build and lead a critical engineering function at a rapidly growing AI startup

Applicants must be currently eligible for a security clearance.