Mission Delivery Engineer - DC

Description

The company builds a GenAI platform that makes deploying GenAI systems simpler. It is a small, well-funded startup, and its founders have had successful exits before.

This is a forward-deployed, hands-on technical lead role for U.S. federal customers. You own the work from pre-sales discovery and proof-of-value (PoV) demos of custom applications through production rollout and handover to the customer or an integration partner.

You build working code, then harden it so it runs reliably in mission environments, including constrained, disconnected, and air-gapped deployments. It covers pre-sales and post-sale work, so it is neither a presentation-only role nor a back-office engineering role.

The goal is faster federal adoption: turn high-value mission use cases into credible PoVs and demos, then into production-ready deployments and repeatable delivery patterns.

First 180 days. Days 0-45: learn the platform in depth, including core capabilities, APIs, SDKs, deployment patterns, and differentiators. Build a demo and PoV environment on containers and Kubernetes, with configs, datasets, and scripts, that runs reliably on customer laptops and in constrained settings. Create a PoV-to-production starter kit. Shadow priority accounts and pick 2-3 high-leverage PoV use cases.

Days 46-120: lead discovery and tailored demos for priority accounts, and own at least 1-2 PoVs end to end. Take at least one PoV to production or a production-ready pilot. Set up a repeatable handoff with a partner or customer team. Support Sales and Capture with technical win themes and delivery risk plans.

Days 121-180: write repeatable playbooks, including a discovery checklist, PoV scoping templates, demo flows, a production hardening checklist, and handoff kits. Cut time-to-demo and time-to-production by standardizing reference architectures across cloud, core data centers, and edge. Enable at least one partner or customer team to deploy and run a solution on its own. Send structured field feedback that shapes roadmap items for federal deployment, security, integration, and delivery speed.

Responsibilities

• Run technical discovery with DoD, IC, and federal customers: mission workflows, data sources, operating constraints including DDIL, stakeholders, and success criteria.
• Turn discovery findings into a clear use case definition, a solution outline, and a measurable PoV plan that states what good looks like, how it is measured, and which data is needed.
• Set the PoV-to-production path early: architecture assumptions, integration points, security considerations, and the conditions that must hold before go-live.
• Design and deliver tailored demos, whiteboard sessions, and hands-on workshops for executive and practitioner audiences.
• Build rapid prototypes and custom apps on the platform using real or representative customer data, often on tight timelines.
• Show mission workflows such as RAG, agentic orchestration, streaming and event-driven ingestion, and edge-capable inference, matched to customer constraints.
• Add basic evaluation and guardrails to PoVs, such as grounding checks, policy constraints, and transparency, to build credibility and speed up stakeholder buy-in.
• Turn successful PoVs into production systems: harden code, split it into modules, add testing, and match customer engineering standards.
• Build and maintain integrations with customer identity, data, and workflow systems, including APIs, messaging and streaming, file stores, and enterprise data platforms.
• Automate deployment and keep dev, test, and prod environments consistent using containers and modern DevOps practices such as Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and logging and metrics.
• Own performance, reliability, and operational readiness: observability, scaling, cost and performance tradeoffs, and failure-mode planning.
• Work with security and accreditation staff on an RMF/ATO-ready approach, including documentation inputs, deployment patterns, and control considerations.
• Keep demos, PoVs, and production deployments realistic for the customer's environment and long-term sustainment, including classified and air-gapped settings.
• Build a security-first practice: keep data contained, apply least privilege, maintain auditability, and handle sensitive customer information safely.
• Deliver hand-off packages with architecture diagrams, deployment guides, runbooks, IaC and configuration artifacts, and code repositories where appropriate.
• Lead knowledge transfer and enablement workshops for customer and partner engineers, operators, and sustainment teams.
• Agree acceptance criteria with stakeholders and reach a documented production sign-off or a clear, agreed transition plan at the end of each engagement.
• Coordinate with systems integrators and partners so work carries from PoV to production, covering roles, interfaces, and escalation paths.
• Work with Sales and Capture on technical win strategy, customer objections, and bid/no-bid input that includes delivery and technical risk.
• Contribute to proposals and technical responses covering architecture, integration approach, security posture, and implementation plan.
• Turn structured engagement feedback into product requirements, giving priority to gaps that affect several customers.
• Work with Engineering and Product on packaging, documentation, deployment automation, and connectors that reduce delivery friction.

Requirements

• 6+ years in customer-facing technical roles supporting U.S. federal customers, such as Solutions Engineer, Sales Engineer, Solutions Architect, Forward-Deployed Engineer, Delivery Engineer, or similar.
• A record of leading engagements end to end: discovery, technical validation, PoV or pilot, production implementation, and handoff to a customer or partner.
• Comfortable in sensitive mission settings and able to communicate within security and information-handling limits.
• Strong software engineering skills to build and harden applications quickly, with Python strongly preferred, plus experience with APIs, SDKs, and modern web or app frameworks.
• Working knowledge of GenAI systems and LLMs, RAG and retrieval, embeddings and vector search, agentic workflows, and evaluation and guardrails.
• Experience with distributed systems and integration patterns, including APIs, event-driven or streaming designs, and data pipelines.
• Experience with containerized deployments and DevOps practices such as Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and logging and metrics. Infrastructure as code is a plus.
• Able to explain technology in terms of mission impact and customer value for executive and practitioner audiences, with strong storytelling, whiteboarding, and workshop facilitation.
• Able to make technical decisions and handle objections in real time.
• High ownership and bias to action, driving outcomes with little supervision while coordinating across Sales, Product, Engineering, and partners.
• U.S. citizenship required.
• Active TS/SCI clearance required.
• Ability to travel within CONUS, including to customer sites and secure locations as required.
• Preferred: experience supporting DoD or IC deployments in classified, air-gapped, or DDIL environments, and familiarity with RMF/ATO processes and NIST 800-53 control families.
• Preferred: experience delivering production systems with clear operational ownership, including runbooks, monitoring, incident response, and sustainment handoffs.
• Preferred: experience integrating with federal data platforms, streaming systems, and identity and access systems.
• Preferred: prior military service or direct experience supporting operational mission teams.
• Preferred: published demos, open-source contributions, or prior work building reference solutions for developer platforms.

Conditions

Remote-first. The team is based in Colorado, but you can work from anywhere with the tools and support you need.

Flat structure, open communication, and little bureaucracy.

Base salary between $170,000 and $210,000, plus equity and benefits. Final pay reflects experience, impact, and location.

Travel within CONUS is required as the role demands, including to secure locations.

The company is an equal opportunity employer.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary and equity in a well-funded startup.
• Health coverage, including low-deductible medical plans.
• Remote workspace support.
• Flexible time off and supportive family leave policies.
• Comprehensive benefits beyond health coverage.