Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

Role Description

Most software engineers never see their code tested against reality. At Swarm Aero, that's the baseline. We are looking for a Senior Forward Deployed Software Engineer to embed directly with U.S. government and military customers and own the technical success of our C2 systems in the field. You will be the person who makes our software work -- not in a lab, not in a staging environment, but in real operational contexts across domestic and international deployments. Austere locations, high-stakes timelines, and complex distributed systems are the job.

This is a full-scope engineering role. You will build critical integrations, debug core services, contribute to new development, and ship solutions that warfighters and government operators depend on. If you want to write code that matters and see it run in environments most engineers never touch, this is the role.

What You'll Do

• Build and own critical software integrations that bring our C2 systems to life in customer environments -- from initial deployment through production reliability across diverse hardware configurations and operational contexts.
• Debug complex distributed systems issues in the field, analyzing logs, network traffic, and system performance to resolve failures fast and with minimal support.
• Contribute to core service development alongside the engineering team, bringing field insight back into the product and shipping improvements that make a direct operational difference.
• Write code daily across the full stack -- solving customer-specific integration challenges, contributing to core service development, and building monitoring and reliability solutions that hold up in the field.
• Support continuous operational environments, including non-standard hours, on-call response, and rotational coverage aligned to mission tempo.
• Travel domestically and internationally (up to 75%) to test sites and customer locations -- deploying software, troubleshooting issues in the field, and feeding hard-won requirements back to engineering.
• Collaborate with U.S. military and government program offices on-site and remotely, translating complex operational requirements into software solutions.

This Role Is For You If

• You want to see your code run in high-stakes, real-world environments -- not just pass CI.
• You thrive on solving hard integration and deployment challenges independently, without a safety net.
• You're comfortable being the most technical person in the room in dynamic, unpredictable field conditions.
• You adapt to shifting schedules and operational demands without losing rigor or precision.

This Role Is NOT

• A pilot position or flight test engineer role.
• Primarily hands-on hardware work (electronics, wiring, mechanical assembly).
• A traditional SRE or DevOps role with predictable hours and controlled environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field.
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated ability.
• Strong proficiency in at least one major programming language (Python, C/C++, Golang, or Java).
• Solid understanding of networking fundamentals: NAT, DNS/mDNS, UDP/TCP protocols, multicast, and firewall configuration.
• Experience with Linux system administration and shell scripting.
• Proven debugging skills across complex software systems -- you know how to read logs, use debuggers, and trace issues systematically.
• Excellent communication skills for engaging with U.S. government and military customers and internal engineering teams.
• Willingness and ability to travel 60% of the time, both domestically and internationally, including to remote or restricted-access locations.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance. Active Secret clearance preferred but not required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and infrastructure-as-code.
• Background in distributed systems, real-time systems, or robotics software.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and deployment automation.
• Experience in customer-facing engineering or technical sales engineering roles.
• Prior defense, intelligence community, or aerospace software experience.
• Comfort operating in non-permissive or resource-constrained environments.

Benefits

• Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company.
• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience.
• Medical, dental, vision, and 401k.
• PTO and paid sick leave.
• Monthly wellness stipend.
• Daily catered lunch (office).
• Paid parental leave.
• Direct impact on a critical national security mission.
• A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems.