Cape

Technology

ForwardDeployedEngineer,Federal

$95–135k ~AI est. Arlington, Virginia, United States FULL TIME
Market Sentiment
HIGH DEMAND

Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Mid+ candidates.

The Brief

“Forward Deployed Engineer, Federal at Cape. Skills: Software engineering, Forward deployed engineering, Customer deployment, Prototyping. Own technical delivery. Embed with customer teams”

What You'll Achieve.

Deliver tangible outcomes; Convert pilots into programs

Industry & Context.

Technology
Problems you'll solve

Troubleshoot live issues; Root-cause analyses

Eligibility Requirements

U.S. citizenship, U.S. Top Secret clearance, Travel up to 50%

What They're Looking For.

Must Have

2+ years software engineering experience, 2+ years forward deployed engineering experience, Demonstrated technical competency, Ability to scope ambiguous problems, Ability to sequence delivery, Ability to make prioritization calls, Excellent written communication, Excellent verbal communication, High ownership, Resourcefulness, Engage directly with customers, Scope technical requirements, Deliver against requirements, U. S. citizenship, Eligibility for U.S. Top Secret clearance, Willingness to travel up to 50%

Nice to Have

Active TS/SCI clearance, Prior military service, Government civilian experience, Experience in communications, Experience in signals, Experience in cyber, Experience in intelligence, Hands-on technical role, Significant customer facing responsibilities, Former FDE experience, Startup engineer experience, Defense tech deployment engineer experience, Background in mobile networks, Background in telecom, Background in networking infrastructure, Background in cybersecurity, Early engineer at startup, Operator at high-growth startup, Experience teaching technical teammates, Experience mentoring technical teammates, Experience onboarding technical teammates, Field-driven feature work into product roadmap

What You'll Do.

Own technical delivery

Embed with customer teams

Configure mobile core

Integrate mobile core

Lead customer exercises

Provide technical support

Conduct root-cause analyses

Drive preventive fixes

Write production-grade code

Build one-off capabilities

Prototype new product features

Validate product features

Work with core engineering

Translate customer requirements

Translate engineering constraints

Advocate internally for customer priorities

Partner with Engineering

Partner with Business Development

Partner with Solutions Architects

How You'll Work.

Team & Collaboration

Customer teams; Core engineering teams; Product teams; Engineering leadership; Business Development; Solutions Architects

Communication Scope

Briefing; Engineering tickets; Customer working sessions

Process & Methodology

Prioritization calls

Full Job Description

ABOUT CAPE Cape is America’s privacy-first mobile carrier. Our mission is to be a force for good in global wireless. Cape was founded in 2022 by people who believe privacy is a fundamental right, not a luxury to be traded away. Our journey began when our founder recognized a critical vulnerability in our modern world: everyone relies on the same stagnant cellular infrastructure and legacy systems that track our every movement, monitor and profile our connections, and lose and sell our personal data. Instead of accepting the status quo, we decided to fix it. National security professionals, journalists, parents, and everyone in between can stay connected and have privacy. We didn’t just build a layer on top of old tech; we built America’s most private and secure mobile carrier from the ground up. By building our own network from scratch, we are able to design and build a suite of privacy and security features that no other carrier on the planet can offer. Today, Cape provides our secure network to consumers, businesses, and government agencies alike. We closed our Series C in March 2026, and we are scaling rapidly, with the goal of giving people back control of their most personal information. THE TEAM At Cape, we are the architects of a privacy-centric movement that is just getting started. We are relentless builders, constantly innovating at the edge of what’s possible in telecommunications. We operate on a foundation of high trust and high expectations. As a member of our team, you will collaborate with world-class engineers, architects, and visionaries, and work across organizational lines to solve "impossible" problems and deliver mission-critical results for our users every single day. THE ROLE Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) are the technical operators who ensure Cape’s products actually work in the field for the customers who depend on them most. In a world of demo-ware and big promises, an FDE delivers tangible outcomes: they embed with federal customers,

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