Software Engineer (Forward Deployed)

Overview

• Job Title: Forward Deployed Software Engineer (Cleared)
• Compensation: $160,000 - $215,000 / year + Equity
• Clearance: Active Secret minimum, TS or TS/SCI strongly preferred
• Location: Hawaii Remote + Customer Site Travel

The Opportunity

• AEP Hawaii is hiring a Forward Deployed Software Engineer with one of our cleared defense tech clients. This is a dual role: you ship product like a senior SWE AND sit in the government customer environment, translating mission pain into shippable features. You are the technical bridge between the engineering org and the operators. Ideal for cleared engineers who want real mission proximity plus venture-backed comp and equity.

Responsibilities

• Customer-Site Engineering: Work onsite or on-mission with government customers, observing workflows and identifying shippable improvements.
• Ship Product: Ship features back to HQ engineering from what you learn in the field.
• Solution Architecture: Design integrations, workarounds, and pilots that make the product succeed in the customer's environment.
• Field Training: Enable operators to use the product effectively.
• Feedback Loop: Be the engineer in the room when hard decisions get made at the customer site.
• On-Call Support: Stand behind your customers when the product breaks.

Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance minimum. TS/SCI strongly preferred.
• 5+ years of software engineering. Fullstack or systems background.
• Comfort with customer-facing work: you can talk to operators and engineers equally well.
• Strong writing skills. Your after-action notes drive the roadmap.
• Hawaii-based or willing to relocate. Travel across the Pacific expected.
• Bias for shipping. You measure yourself by what lands in customer hands.

Engagement Details

• Format: W2 Full-Time, full benefits, meaningful equity.
• Travel: 30-50% customer site rotation.
• Hawaii Presence: Preferred home base with Pacific-region customer rotation.
• Growth Path: Lead Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineering Lead, or founding member of a new product pod.