Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Tagup is a Series A defense technology company, founded at MIT, that is delivering logistics decision advantage with next-generation AI. It all started on a balcony at MIT, with an idea about monitoring asset data via the cloud using passive RFID tags (TAG) - sent up (UP) to the cloud. 

 

Our product Manifest— is the operating system for the physical world. We’re a team of engineers and data scientists driven by our mission to use reinforcement learning and probabilistic modeling to optimize military logistics and critical infrastructure, ensuring our customers get the best performance they can out of the resources.

 

You make a real world impact where your code won't just optimize a shopping cart or a compute primitive. It will optimize supply chains for the U.S. military and prevent catastrophic failures in critical infrastructure. We do not use proprietary tooling or build systems and deployment pipelines. We build on modern, open standards you can apply in any space. You won't just own a slice of a service. You will own entire architectural domains—from API design and data modeling to deployment and monitoring strategies. You’ll work directly with PhD-level data scientists and former special operators. We value high-velocity decision-making over "approval chains."

We're hiring a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer to lead the technical delivery of our platform to defense customers. This isn't a support role. You'll be the person in the room when a combatant command needs a capability deployed in weeks, not quarters. You'll shape how our technology meets the battlefield, and you'll have the autonomy and ownership to make it happen.

If you want to build things that matter — and see them used immediately — this is the role.

What You'll Do

Lead from the front. You'll be the senior technical face of Tagup with our most important defense customers. You'll build trust with operators, program managers, and military leaders — and you'll be the person they call when the mission depends on it.

Architect deployments end-to-end. From contract kick-off through production operations, you'll own the full delivery lifecycle. You'll design deployment architectures, define integration strategies, set milestones, and ensure we deliver on time in environments where "on time" isn't negotiable.

Bridge the gap between product and mission. You'll translate operational needs into product requirements, working directly with our engineering team to prioritize features that unlock real capability for warfighters. Your field experience will directly shape our roadmap.

Manage complexity. You'll run multiple concurrent engagements across different customers, classification levels, and operational contexts — keeping every one of them on track.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of experience in software delivery, technical consulting, solutions engineering, or forward-deployed roles — bonus points for defense, intelligence, or other high-security environments

• Strong engineering fundamentals. You can write production-quality Python or JavaScript, reason about distributed systems, and debug a deployment at 2 AM if the mission calls for it

• Exceptional communication skills. You're equally comfortable whiteboarding an architecture with engineers and briefing a general officer on delivery timelines

• A bias for action and ownership. You don't wait for permission. You see what needs to happen and you make it happen

• Willingness to travel to customer sites as needed — sometimes on short notice

Salary

Base salary: $160,000 – $200,000 , depending on experience and location.

We align compensation with your experience and impact, and we aim to attract and retain top engineering talent. In addition to salary, every team member receives meaningful equity through our Employee Stock Option Plan. We also offer comprehensive health insurance, access to a 401(k) plan, and a team-oriented culture with regular company outings.

Why Tagup

This isn't a company where engineers are three layers removed from the mission. At Tagup, the code you write on Monday can be running in an operational environment by Friday. You'll work alongside a small, intensely talented team where your judgment matters, your initiative is rewarded, and the work has consequences beyond quarterly metrics.

We're at an inflection point — growing quickly, winning major contracts, and building the team that will define how AI is used in defense logistics for the next decade. If you want in on the ground floor of something consequential, we'd love to talk.

Tagup is an equal opportunity employer and individuals seeking employment with us are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law.

 

Citizenship : Due to the nature of our work with the U.S. Department of Defense, applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor visas at this time.

 

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.