Missionforce - Senior/Lead Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Public Sector

Leadout Capital; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Leadout Capital seeks a Forward Deployed Engineer for its Public Sector team, embedded with DoD, IC, and aerospace clients to design and deploy bespoke AI solutions and a planet-scale platform with reliability and security.

This role requires an AI-first mindset, strong software engineering depth, and the ability to translate complex needs into scalable technical solutions across cloud environments. A background in defense or federal projects is preferred.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience.
• Deep proficiency in Java, GoLang, Python, or Ruby.
• AI-first approach to engineering with AI in development workflows.
• Experience using AI tools (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Cursor).
• Advanced prompt engineering to produce reliable, secure outputs.
• Experience with enterprise data platforms such as Salesforce Data Cloud, Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery.
• Experience working in an air-gapped GovCloud environment.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills across teams.
• Ability to travel 25–50% to customer sites.
• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance required

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead on engagements—designing, building, and deploying Salesforce solutions for defense missions.
• Engineer distributed systems across thousands of compute nodes on AWS, GCP, Azure, or Alibaba Cloud.
• Develop Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform), microservices (Kubernetes, Docker), and data pipelines.
• Deliver production-grade software with AI integrated into development workflow.
• Design systems where AI agents integrate into human workflows at scale.
• Contribute to building the shared system context with designs, constraints, and standards.
• Critically evaluate code for correctness, security, and performance.
• Partner with customers and mission stakeholders to translate needs into solutions.
• Lead rapid prototyping, root cause analysis, and evangelize best practices.
• Mentor junior engineers as a technical role model

Skills

Java

Go

Python

Ruby

AI-first engineering

Distributed systems

Tools

Terraform

Kubernetes

Docker

Salesforce Data Cloud

Snowflake

Databricks

BigQuery

GovCloud

Job description

Must be a U.S. citizen (U.S. born or naturalized) living on U.S. soil who does not hold dual citizenship with the ability to meet customer and government screening standards applicable to this role.

Candidates interested in the Hawaii location must be based in Oahu.

PLEASE NOTE: Qualification for this job is contingent upon acceptable results from a background investigation as well as your having and maintaining the specific level of U.S. government background investigation and clearance required for this role.

About the Role

As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) on our Public Sector team, you'll be embedded with U.S. Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and Aerospace clients — designing and deploying bespoke AI solutions that drive mission-critical outcomes. Additionally you'll architect the backbone of a planet-scale platform that ships hundreds of features daily with rock-solid reliability and security.

This role demand a builder's mindset, an AI-first approach, and the technical depth to take complex challenges from concept to production.

Mission Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead on high-profile customer engagements—designing, building, and deploying tailored Salesforce solutions for defense, intelligence, and aerospace missions.
• Engineer distributed systems running across thousands of compute nodes on AWS, GCP, Azure, or Alibaba Cloud
• Develop Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform), microservices (Kubernetes, Docker), and data pipelines
• Build and ship high-quality, production-grade software using modern engineering practices, with AI as a core part of your development workflow by pushing the boundaries of AI development tools to deliver secure, optimized, and high-quality code.
• Design and orchestrate complex systems where AI agents integrate seamlessly into human workflows, driving efficiency and innovation at scale.
• Contribute to building and maintaining the shared system context, an explicit repository of system designs, constraints, and standards that enables AI to operate accurately and reliably.
• Critically evaluate code (human or AI-generated) for correctness, quality, security, and performance.
• Partner directly with customers and mission stakeholders to translate complex needs into technical solutions
• Lead rapid prototyping, root cause analysis, and best-practice evangelism across teams
• Mentor junior engineers and serve as a technical role model

What We're Looking For

We’re looking for a builder, a problem solver, and a mission-first Leader with a passion for public service. The ideal candidate brings:

• 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience
• Deep proficiency in Java, GoLang, Python, or Ruby
• A demonstrated, genuine AI-first approach to engineering — using AI to move faster, build fluency across the stack, and contribute well beyond your core specialty.
• Experience using AI tools (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Cursor, etc.) in development workflows.
• Advanced prompt engineering skills and the ability to write precise, structured prompts and cultivate the system context that makes AI outputs reliable, secure, and production-ready.
• Experience with enterprise data platforms (Salesforce Data Cloud, Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery)
• Experience working in an air-gapped GovCloud environment
• Strong collaboration and communication skills — from command centers to executive briefings
• Ability to travel 25–50% of the time, as needed to customer sites.
• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance required

Preferred

• Background in defense/aerospace, classified environments (IL5/IL6), or federal civilian agencies
• Prior experience in a customer-facing, hands-on technical lead or architect role.
• Salesforce platform experience (Agentforce, Data Cloud, Flows, LWC, Apex)
• Familiarity with IL5/IL6/CNSS #1253 requirements or deployment to classified environments.

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