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

114 Acumen Solutions, Inc.; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 149,000 - 365,000; Full time

Job summary

Salesforce is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer for the Public Sector, embedded with DoD, IC and aerospace clients. You’ll design and deploy AI-driven solutions, architect scalable platforms, and push AI-first development across cloud environments with emphasis on security and reliability. Expect to mentor engineers, lead prototyping, and travel 25-50%.

Active Secret/TS clearance is required. You’ll work hands-on to delivery high-impact, mission-critical software leveraging Salesforce Data

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience.
• Deep proficiency in Java, GoLang, Python, or Ruby.
• AI-first approach to engineering and production-ready code.
• Experience with AI tools in development workflows.
• Experience with enterprise data platforms.
• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance required.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical engagements and deploy tailored Salesforce solutions.
• Engineer distributed systems across multiple clouds.
• Develop IaC (Terraform), microservices (Kubernetes, Docker), and data pipelines.
• Deliver production-grade software with AI at core.
• Mentor junior engineers and share best practices.

Skills

8+ years exp

Java/Go/Python/Ruby

AI-first engineering

AI tools usage

Salesforce Data Cloud

GovCloud experience

Security clearance

Kubernetes

Docker

Terraform

Cloud platforms

Tools

Terraform

Kubernetes

Docker

Cloud platforms

Job description

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.

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

• 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.

Unleash Your Potential

When you join Salesforce, you’ll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance and be your best, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you can do your best. Together, we’ll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love.

Accommodations

If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form. Please note that Salesforce uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates’ resumes and qualifications throughout the recruiting process. Humans will always make any candidate selection and hiring decisions. Please see our Candidate Privacy Statement for more information about how we use your personal data and your rights, including with regard to use of AI tools and opt out options.

Posting Statement

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that’s inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal. Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications – without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in your Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education. In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com. At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions. The typical base salary range for this position is $148,500 - $365,200 annually. The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.

We’re Salesforce, the Customer Company, inspiring the future of business with AI + Data + CRM. Leading with our core values, we help companies across every industry blaze new trails and connect with customers in a whole new way. And, we empower you to be a Trailblazer, too — driving your performance and career growth, charting new paths, and improving the state of the world. If you believe in business as the greatest platform for change and in companies doing well and doing good – you've come to the right place.