Full-Time

Forward Deployed Engineer

Updated on 9/4/2026

Istari Digital

Istari Digital

51-200 employees

Model-based engineering platform and digital twins

Compensation Overview

$143k - $165k/yr

No H1B Sponsorship

Dayton, OH, USA

In Person

US Citizenship, US Top Secret Clearance Required

Category
Solution Engineering (1)
Required Skills
CAD
Autodesk CFD

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Requirements
  • Strong software engineering fundamentals — you write production-quality code and can defend your architectural decisions
  • Hands-on experience with digital engineering toolchains: CAD, CFD, FEM, or related simulation and modeling environments
  • Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments without a lot of hand-holding
  • Ability to work on-site with customers in a U.S. defense or aerospace context (clearance eligibility required; active clearance a strong plus)
  • U.S. citizenship required
Responsibilities
  • Embed with customer engineering teams to understand their workflows, data environments, and technical constraints
  • Architect and build software solutions that integrate Istari's platform into existing digital engineering ecosystems (CAD, CFD, FEM, simulation pipelines, and related toolchains)
  • Serve as the primary technical interface for the customer – not just answering questions, but proactively identifying where our software can drive more value
  • Develop, test, and maintain integrations and workflow solutions following modern software engineering practices
  • Write clean, maintainable code that can be productized or reused across customer deployments
  • Contribute to internal tooling and documentation that scales your knowledge across the team
  • Translate field experience into actionable product insights — you are one of Istari's clearest signals on what customers actually need
  • Participate in internal engineering reviews, architecture discussions, and roadmap planning
  • Help develop proposals and technical approaches for new customer opportunities
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience integrating engineering software into larger data or workflow platforms
  • Background in aerospace, defense, or other systems-engineering-heavy industries
  • Exposure to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) or digital thread / digital twin concepts
  • Exposure to or direct experience with advanced CAD, CFD, or FEM tools

Istari Digital builds a platform to create an engineering metaverse for design, testing, and certification of physical systems entirely through modeling and simulation. It enables digital twins and digital threads—integrated models that trace a system’s lifecycle—so assets can go from concept to certifiable hardware without physical prototyping. The platform supports model-based engineering and cross-team collaboration to validate assets in a virtual environment before building them, with leadership from defense and government-experienced founders. The goal is to speed hardware development to software-like pace while enabling verifiable virtual testing and airworthiness certification across aerospace, defense, and related industries, reducing time, cost, and environmental impact.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Early VC

Total Funding

$35.6M

Headquarters

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Founded

2022

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • On May 20, 2026, DAF awarded Istari $8.6 million for Industry Øne.
  • In 2026, Mark Ryland joined from AWS to lead secure AI agent infrastructure.
  • Istari filed a $40 million offering after raising $22.6 million, signaling investor demand.

What critics are saying

  • The Air Force remains the anchor customer; any 2027 budget shift starves Istari's pipeline.
  • Industry Øne depends on Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and RTX adopting shared workflows.
  • If Flyer Øne misses digital certification, Istari becomes a niche services firm.

What makes Istari Digital unique

  • Will Roper and Chris Benson combine Air Force acquisition and MIT digital-engineering credibility.
  • Industry Øne connects 15 defense players without centralizing data, preserving sovereign control.
  • Flyer Øne targets first digitally certified aircraft, a rare, measurable certification wedge.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Flexible Work Hours

Unlimited Paid Time Off

401k

Company Stock Options

Home Office Stipend

Conferences Attendance Budget

Reimbursement for approved trainings and subscriptions

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

5%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

2%
Castle Placement
Aug 13th, 2026
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Top 10 Cryptocurrency/Blockchain capital raises and investors in the U.S. - july 1st - 31st, 2026. Several interesting transactions closed in the Cryptocurrency/Blockchain sector over the past month. If you would like more info on these deals or would like to discuss the capital raising market for your company, please contact me. * Luxxfolio Holdings, a digital infrastructure and technology company that buildsinfrastructure for the Litecoin blockchain ecosystem, received CAD 1.55 million of development capital through a private placement. * Blockmate Ventures, a Web3 incubator and venture creator that supports clean energy, blockchain technology, and decentralization businesses, received CAD 1 million of development capital from Gleneagle Securities, Carosa Corporation and other investors through a private placement. Merger/Acquisition * MasterDEX, a decentralized exchange platform that simplifies cryptocurrency trading and portfolio management across multiple blockchain networks, acquired by Liechtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange. * OdinBot, a copy trading platform that provides automated blockchain trading, wallet analysis, and real-time screening, acquired by Cielo. Later Stage VC * InvestiFi, an investment platform that integrates with digital banking platforms and enables users to invest in various financial assets, raised $20 million of Series B1 venture funding in a deal led by Vibe Credit Union. * Just Wallet, a blockchain-based payment platform that facilitates instant global money transfers through digital wallets and tokenized currencies, raised venture funding from Wakestream Ventures. Early Stage VC * Istari Digital, an engineering metaverse platform that enables digital engineering collaboration, modeling, simulation, and certification, raised $22.65 million of Series B venture funding. * Fun, a token launchpad that enables cryptocurrency creators to launch digital assets and manage liquidity across blockchain networks, raised $3.5 million of venture funding in a deal led by Becker Ventures. Seed Round * KrillPay, a borderless digital wallet that provides digital banking and cross-border transfers for migrants and underserved communities, raised $5.46 million of seed funding from Interactive Investor, AngelList and National Australia Bank. * M1X Global, a blockchain-based capital markets infrastructure that enables governments and institutions to issue and manage regulated digital securities, raised $5.5 million of seed funding in a deal led by Paradigm. #castleplacement #capitalraising #privateequity #venturecapital #investment #crypto #cryptocurrency #blockchain | Rashidah Billups Managing Director | Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to discuss your capital raise: Email: [email protected] (C)(917) 475-6679 Send Castle Placement a message: Sources: Information on this page was derived from a variety of sources including Bloomberg, Company Websites, Crunchbase, PitchBook and other news outlets. Castle Placement(R) does not warrant or guarantee this information, nor makes any representations as to the accuracy of the information. For more Risks, see CPGO Risks and Disclaimers. 0 Comments

Intelligence360 News
Aug 6th, 2026
Istari Digital has filed a notice of an exempt offering of securities to raise $40,000,001.00 in New Funding.

Istari Digital has filed a notice of an exempt offering of securities to raise $40,000,001.00 in New Funding. According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Istari Digital is raising up to $40,000,001.00 in new funding. The federal securities law requires the notice to be filed by companies that have sold securities without registration under the Securities Act of 1933 in an offering made under Rule 504 or 506 of Regulation D or Section 4(a)(5) of the Securities Act. A company must file this notice within 15 days after the first sale of securities in the offering. For this purpose, the date of first sale is the date on which the first investor is irrevocably contractually committed to invest. Each issuer of securities that sells its securities in reliance on an exemption provided in Regulation D or Section 4(a)(5) of the Securities Act of 1933 must file this notice containing the information requested with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and with the state(s) requiring it. If more than one issuer has sold its securities in the same transaction, all issuers should be identified in this filing with the SEC. About Istari Digital Istari Digital is a technology company focused on transforming complex engineering into secure, continuous digital workflows. According to its website, Istari connects tools, teams, and environments so that disconnected processes become continuous, auditable workflows, while organizations retain full control over their data. Its platform enables engineering teams to determine whether systems are secure, validated, and compliant in minutes instead of months, streamlining the entire lifecycle from design through operation. Istari particularly serves air, sea, space, energy, and transportation organizations, helping them securely coordinate, validate, and operate complex systems across distributed engineering environments. The company positions itself as building foundational infrastructure for no-fail industries, aiming to make digital engineering ecosystems and an engineering metaverse a practical reality where technologies can be created and tested digitally, free from real-world constraints.

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The Business Journals
Jul 27th, 2026
Istari Digital raises $22.6M toward $40M goal, secures millions in Air Force contracts

Istari Digital, an Arlington-based defence technology startup, has raised $22.6 million towards a $40 million funding goal. The company has already secured millions in Air Force contracts. Previously, Istari Digital worked on a $28 million programme alongside Lockheed Martin. The startup focuses on defence technology solutions.

VocoLife
May 26th, 2026
AWS vet Mark Ryland joins Istari Digital to lead AI push.

AWS vet Mark Ryland joins Istari Digital to lead AI push. 5h ago · 0:00 listen · Source: PR Newswire Summary. Mark Ryland has joined Istari Digital as Vice President of Artificial Intelligence. He is a 30-year veteran in cloud security and enterprise software. Ryland previously spent 14 years at Amazon Web Services, where he built AWS Worldwide Public Sector as Chief Solutions Architect. He also served eight years with AWS Security as Founder and Director, Office of the CISO. Earlier in his career, he worked at Microsoft for 13 years in senior roles. Istari Digital focuses on secure AI agent infrastructure for industries where failure is not an option, such as aerospace and defense. The company aims to solve the challenge of making AI agents safe across security boundaries and organizations that cannot easily share data. Will Roper, CEO of Istari Digital, states that Ryland will lead the company's AI work. Ryland believes the next generation of AI will be pioneered in solving hard infrastructure problems to preserve trust, control, and accountability as AI operates in real mission environments. This development matters because it highlights efforts to create secure and trustworthy AI systems for critical sectors. This is an AI-generated audio summary. Always check the original source for complete reporting.