Regional Director, Forward Deployed Engineering - Public Sector

Fdetimes; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineering leader to build and scale a regional FDE team. You will embed with public sector customers, drive technical discovery to delivery, and shape ROI-focused engagements of six- and seven-figure value.

You will sponsor executive reviews and coordinate with GSIs and consulting partners to extend the impact. Success is measured by lasting changes in a customer's org at day 30, not just delivered code.

Qualifications

• Experience leading engineers who build and ship production software.
• Proficient in Python, JavaScript, or TypeScript.
• Experience deploying AI-powered workflows in production.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a regional team of FDEs, set performance standards and career paths.
• Own scoping for PubSec FDE projects with ROI-focused proposals.
• Maintain delivery quality with defined milestones and clean handoffs.
• Act as executive technical sponsor and primary client contact at senior levels.
• Provide product feedback and drive roadmap decisions based on field learnings.
• Contribute to partner tracks with GSI and consulting firms.

Skills

Team management

Software development

Python/JavaScript/TypeScript

AI workflows in production

Production systems

Security clearance (US)

Job description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today, SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary and expanding consciousness to the stars.

SpaceXSI is building Super Intelligence to help humanity understand the universe. Our teams are building the full Super Intelligence stack: from our Colossus supercomputers, to Grok models, to our suite of applications, including Grok Bot, Grok Build, Grok Imagine, Grok Voice, and X. We're creating a powerful flywheel where more compute trains better models, better models power more useful products, and what we learn from people using those products shapes what we build next.

About the role

Our Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) don't advise from the sidelines. They embed with customer teams, build production-grade AI coding workflows alongside them, and leave behind habits that keep paying off after the engagement ends. As Regional Director, you'll lead and scale this team across our most important public sector customers, own engagements from technical discovery through delivery, and build the partner track that extends this work through GSIs and consulting firms. Success is measured by what's different in a customer's org at day 30, not by what got shipped.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a team of FDEs in your region: hire, set clear technical performance standards and career paths, and coach the team on scoping and delivery of FDE engagements
• Own scoping for PubSec FDE projects: run discovery and architecture reviews, surface integration and infrastructure constraints, and turn ambiguous customer problems into time-boxed proposals with clear ROI for six- and seven-figure engagements.
• Hold the delivery quality bar across your team's engagements: tight scoping, milestone tracking, technical standards, and clean handoffs to customer engineering teams.
• Serve as executive technical sponsor and primary customer point of contact on your region's highest-priority engagements, owning delivery and the relationship from IC engineers to the C-suite, and stepping in directly where the stakes are highest.
• Generate product feedback loop with Product and Engineering with enough detail to drive roadmap decisions, and turn what works into reusable solutions and product surface areas for all customers.
• Contribute to the launch and scaling of the PupSec partner FDE track: train and enable GSI and consulting partners, and hold them to the same quality bar as the in-house team.

Basic Qualifications

• Experience directly managing a team of engineers who build and ship production software
• Professional software development experience in Python, JavaScript, or TypeScript
• Experience building and deploying AI-powered workflows in production environments

Preferred Skills and Experience

• U.S. citizenship required. Active security clearance (Public Trust, Secret, Top Secret, or TS/SCI) or ability to obtain one.
• Leadership experience in forward deployed engineering, data science, machine learning engineering or software engineers
• Debugging model failures in production AI systems
• Scoping six- and seven-figure technical engagements with Sales and presenting them to C-suite and engineering leadership buyers
• Enabling GSI or consulting partners to deliver technical engagements