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

Overview

We are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) on the Public Sector team to embed with U.S. Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and Aerospace clients, designing and deploying bespoke AI solutions that drive mission‑critical outcomes. The role involves architecting a planet‑scale platform that ships hundreds of features daily with rock‑solid reliability and security.

• 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 the development workflow.
• 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.

• 8+ years of hands‑on software engineering experience.
• Deep proficiency in Java, GoLang, Python, or Ruby.
• Demonstrated, genuine AI‑first approach to engineering—using AI to accelerate development, build fluency across the stack, and contribute beyond core specialty.
• Experience using AI tools (e.g., Claude Code, Git Hub Copilot, Codex, Cursor) in development workflows.
• Advanced prompt engineering skills and the ability to write precise, structured prompts that cultivate reliable, secure, production‑ready AI outputs.
• Experience with enterprise data platforms (Salesforce Data Cloud, Snowflake, Databricks, Big Query).
• Experience working in an air‑gapped Gov Cloud 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.

This role requires U.S. citizenship (U.S. born or naturalized) who does not hold dual citizenship and agrees to complete a U.S. federal government Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) for a Moderate Public Trust position. Candidates interested in the Hawaii location must be based in Oahu.

We provide reasonable accommodation during the application or recruiting process. Submit a request via the Accommodations Request Form.

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non‑discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. We believe in equality for all and strive to create a workplace that’s inclusive and free from discrimination.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), employee stock purchasing program, and more. The typical base salary range for this position is $148,500 - $365,200 annually, excluding bonus, equity, or other benefits.