Forward Deployed Engineer

Forward Deployed Engineer at Rivet Industries

San Jose, CA • Full‑time • On‑site

Base salary $165,000 – $220,000 per year plus competitive equity.

Must be a U.S. citizen with a Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain one.

About this role

Embed directly with commercial and defense customers to solve complex real‑world problems at the intersection of hardware, software, and mission‑critical operations. Write production‑quality code in the field, shape the product roadmap, and work on technology that matters.

What you will be doing

• Deploy onsite with customers (industrial, defense, and government) to develop, debug, and ship high‑impact software solutions in the field — often in air‑gapped, austere, or disconnected environments.
• Cycle between customer sites and the office, gather real‑world feedback, bring it back to the core engineering team, and iterate fast to improve the product.
• Diagnose and solve a wide range of technical problems on the fly — from networking issues to code bugs — using whatever tool is right for the job (Linux, Android, C, Rust, Python, etc.).
• Act as Rivet's ambassador on site, represent the company credibly with customer stakeholders, translate field learnings into product priorities, and identify new use cases.
• Collaborate with Rivet's core engineering team (including PhDs and domain specialists) to communicate and resolve complex technical challenges discovered in the field.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of hands‑on software engineering experience with strong foundations in Linux, networking fundamentals, and low‑level programming (C, Rust, or similar); comfortable across multiple languages and abstraction levels.
• Demonstrated experience deploying and debugging integrated technology solutions onsite with customers—not just building in an office.
• Background in environments where software meets the physical world (embedded systems, defense tech, robotics, aerospace, IoT, factory automation, or similar).
• Scrappy, curious, self‑directed; thrives in ambiguity, willing to travel 35–70%, and genuinely excited to work in austere field environments.
• U.S. citizen with an active Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain one.

Travel: 35–70% on field sites.

On‑site work policy: In‑office in San Jose, CA with 35–50% travel to customer sites.

Full‑time position.

Tech stack: Linux, Android, C, Rust, Python, DevOps, Networking/IP, Embedded Systems, Hardware‑Software Integration, SDLC, Sensors, AI.