Mission Delivery Engineer (Forward Deployed Engineer)

Mission Delivery Engineer (Forward Deployed Engineer) – TS/SCI

Location: El Segundo CA preferred · Active TS/SCI required · $150K–$250K+ equity

Kamiwaza builds AI software that runs where the mission is: on-prem, at the edge, and on air-gapped and classified networks. We're already delivering for DoD and IC customers, and we're hiring forward-deployed engineers to take AI from first demo to production in the field.

As a Mission Delivery Engineer, you own the whole arc. You run discovery with the people doing the mission, build a working prototype on real data, and harden it into something that runs reliably on their network. Then you hand it off so their team can own it. You're early on a small, fast-growing federal team, so the way you work becomes the way we work.

What you'll do

• Discover the mission. Sit with DoD and IC users to understand their workflows, data, and operating constraints, including DDIL. Turn that into a clear use case and a measurable plan for what success looks like.

• Build fast and show it working. Prototype custom applications on the Kamiwaza platform using real or representative data, covering RAG, agentic workflows, streaming ingestion, and edge inference. Run demos and hands-on workshops for both operators and senior leaders.

• Take it to production. Harden what you built with testing, CI/CD, containers, Kubernetes, and observability, and integrate it with customer identity, data, and workflow systems so it runs reliably in classified and air-gapped environments.

• Get it accredited. Bring a security-first mindset and work with security and accreditation teams to support an RMF/ATO-ready approach.

• Hand it off cleanly. Deliver architecture diagrams, runbooks, deployment guides, and code, and train customer and partner teams until they can run it themselves.

• Shape the product and the win. Help Sales and Capture build technical win strategies and proposals, and bring what you learn in the field back to Product and Engineering.

Your first 180 days

1. Days 0–45: Master the platform and build your toolkit, including a portable demo environment that runs in constrained settings and a starter kit for taking prototypes to production.

2. Days 46–120: Own one or two customer engagements end to end, and convert at least one into a production deployment or production-ready pilot.

3. Days 121–180: Turn what worked into repeatable playbooks, and enable a partner or customer team to deploy and run Kamiwaza on their own.

What you bring

• U.S. citizenship and an active TS/SCI clearance

• 6+ years in customer-facing technical roles supporting U.S. federal customers, such as solutions, sales, forward-deployed, or delivery engineering

• A track record of carrying engagements from discovery through production and handoff

• Strong hands-on coding skills, with Python preferred

• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD

• The ability to explain technical work in terms of mission impact, to operators and to senior leaders

If you meet most of these but not every one, we'd still like to hear from you.

Nice to have

• Hands-on experience with LLMs, RAG, vector search, agentic workflows, or AI evaluation and guardrails. If you've shipped in secure environments but are newer to GenAI, we'll get you up to speed.

• Deployments in classified, air-gapped, or DDIL environments, and familiarity with RMF/ATO and NIST 800-53

• Integrations with federal data platforms, streaming systems, or identity and access systems

• Prior military service or direct support of operational mission teams

• Infrastructure as code, open-source contributions, or published demos and reference solutions

Why Kamiwaza

• Work that's in use. Our platform runs in secure government environments today, and what you build will reach real operators, not sit in a slide deck.

• Hard, interesting problems. You'll make modern AI work in places most AI can't go, including disconnected, air-gapped, and classified networks.

• Ground floor of a federal team. You'll help define how we deliver, with direct access to leadership and minimal red tape.

• Your clearance is in good hands. We will hold your TS/SCI clearance

Compensation and benefits

• Base salary of $150,000–$250,000+, depending on experience, impact, and location

• Equity in Kamiwaza

• Low-deductible medical plans

• Flexible time off and supportive family leave

• Remote workspace support

How to apply

Apply here. If you'd like to stand out, add a few sentences about a customer problem you solved end to end. Keep it unclassified or sanitized; we know most of your best work can't be shared.

We're an AI company, so if you used AI to put your application together, tell us how. We're genuinely curious.

Note to recruiters and agencies: Kamiwaza does not accept unsolicited resumes. Candidate information sent without a signed agreement becomes Kamiwaza's property, and no placement fee will be paid.