Defense Unicorns
Forward Deployed AI Engineer (FedD149B/ FedD110)
About this role
Defense Unicorns seeks a Forward Deployed AI Engineer to embed with U.S. government customers, architecting and deploying secure AI systems across cloud, on-premises, and air-gapped environments. This customer-facing role combines backend engineering expertise with generative AI capabilities to deliver rapid, mission-critical software solutions for defense applications.
What you'll do
- Partner with strategic government customers from problem discovery through implementation and adoption
- Design, build, and deploy agentic AI systems including APIs, ETL pipelines, RAG systems, and context engineering
- Lead solution delivery by scoping work, setting priorities, managing stakeholder expectations, and removing blockers
- Operate systems in cloud, on-prem, and air-gapped environments using platforms like Kubernetes
- Develop reusable patterns, frameworks, and playbooks to accelerate future deployments
- Serve as technical liaison to customer leadership, communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
What they're looking for
- Backend engineering (Python or TypeScript)
- API and data pipeline design
- Generative AI and LLM fundamentals
- Context engineering for AI systems
- Kubernetes deployment in secure environments
- Information retrieval (vector/keyword search, document processing)
- Cross-functional communication and stakeholder management
- Scope definition and technical trade-off analysis
Benefits
- Competitive salary range: $123,250–$201,250 depending on level
- Remote work with flexible travel to client sites
- Mission-driven work supporting U.S. defense and national security
- Opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI and secure software delivery
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Defense Unicorns
Defense Unicorns builds software platforms and infrastructure services for defense and government customers, including containerized applications, package management systems, and Kubernetes-based deployment environments for disconnected or hybrid cloud settings. The company is hiring software engineers, platform engineers, technical writers, and military SkillBridge interns to develop, deploy, and support these mission-critical systems.
- Website
- defenseunicorns.com
Likely interview questions
- Walk us through a time you deployed a production system in a highly constrained or air-gapped environment. What were the biggest challenges and how did you solve them?
- Describe your experience with generative AI or LLM systems. How would you explain context engineering and retrieval-augmented generation to a non-technical customer stakeholder?