--- title: 'Forward Deployed Engineer - Software Modernization (TS/SCI Clearance Required) at Vannevar' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-software-modernization-ts-sci-clearance-required-dtz44p6f0na3' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-09' --- # Forward Deployed Engineer - Software Modernization (TS/SCI Clearance Required) at Vannevar - **Company:** Vannevar - **Location:** Washington District of Columbia, United States - **Posted:** 2026-06-16 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vannevarlabs/jobs/5165272007 ## Job description Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter our adversaries. In the 21st century, conflict moves at algorithmic speed and foresight equals firepower. Our agentic AI is purpose-built to compete with China—from cross-Strait conflict to gray zone coercion. Trained on the most mission-relevant datasets in defense, our technology models adversary behavior, simulates campaigns, and recommends the best course of action to decision makers. Our AI systems are some of the most trusted in the industry and actively used on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific to keep the peace and save lives. Exceptional technology starts with exceptional people. Vannevar is a small agile team combining world-class engineers with veteran strategists who bring deep expertise in defense and tradecraft. We’re building a company defined by mission impact, user empathy, and disciplined growth. In just three years, we grew from $3M to $80M in ARR, achieved early profitability, and reached unicorn status—proving that disruption doesn’t require an ego, and staying power doesn’t mean standing still. ## About the role Our Mission teams operate like small startups within the Vannevar umbrella. As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) supporting software modernization for the Department of War, you will serve as the technical lead for customer engagements focused on modernizing mission-critical software systems. You will work directly with technical stakeholders across government and other defense primes supporting national security missions, owning the architecture, development, deployment, and fielding of agentic solutions tailored to real-world systems engineering challenges. In this role, you will act as a senior technical counterpart to customer stakeholders — translating mission requirements into scalable software, navigating government technical environments, and ensuring capabilities are delivered reliably into production. You will collaborate closely with product, design, platform engineering, and mission teammates to deliver high-impact outcomes, while remaining a hands-on individual contributor. U.S. Persons status with at least a current Top Secret US DoD or IC clearance is required. This is a customer-facing role required to be based in Washington D.C. Work will require time in secure or classified environments and frequent travel (40-50%). ## What you’ll do - Deploy, customize, and extend Vannevar's agentic software modernization platform to accelerate refactoring, architecture modernization, testing, and software delivery for mission-critical defense systems. - Serve as the primary technical point of contact for customer stakeholders, partnering with government and industry teams to understand mission requirements and deliver technical outcomes. - Collaborate with engineers, product teams, and mission experts to design and deliver software solutions that address complex systems engineering challenges. - Analyze existing massive software architectures, development workflows, and technical constraints to identify modernization opportunities and guide implementation strategies. - Develop technical recommendations, demonstrations, and modernization plans that help government program offices adopt AI-enabled software engineering capabilities. ## What we’re looking for - 5+ years of professional software engineering experience building and deploying production systems across the DoW or IC. - Experience working directly with customers or stakeholders to translate mission requirements into technical solutions. Candidate should have strong technical communication skills and the ability to lead complex technical discussions with both engineers and senior stakeholders. - Experience supporting modernization, integration, or sustainment efforts for large-scale software systems. - Proficiency in one or more of TypeScript, Python, Java, C++, or similar programming languages. - Experience with modern software development and deployment practices, including cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and DevSecOps. - Experience operating in regulated or secure environments, including DoD Risk Management Framework (RMF) and NIST 800-53. ## What we value - Experience with Ada, CMS-2, C++, Java, or other legacy systems languages. - Experience building, evaluating, or operating coding agents, software engineering agents, code intelligence systems, or agentic developer tools using LangGraph, OpenAI SDK, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent2Agent (A2A), and more. - Experience with software architecture reviews, systems engineering, requirements management, verification, and validation. - Prior experience working with defense primes or government program offices. ## What we offer We’re proud to offer competitive benefits that support our employees. Some key highlights of our benefits package include: - Health, dental, and vision insurance - Remote friendly with WeWork access - Unlimited PTO, shared downtime during the federal holiday calendar, and company-wide off time at the end of each year - 401(k) match - Lifestyle & wellbeing stipends - Salary top-up during military reserve duty - Fully paid parental leave - Child and pet care reimbursement during travel Vannevar is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply, even if you don't feel like you're a perfect fit. If you're passionate about contributing to our mission, we'd love to hear from you! ## IMPORTANT NOTICE We are committed to protecting the privacy of all applicants. Official emails from the company will come from an @vannevarlabs.com domain. Under no circumstances will a legitimate representative from our company contact you to request passwords, financial information, or other sensitive personal data. Please be vigilant of potential scams. ## About Vannevar ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Vannevar Labs builds next-generation AI-powered defense software for information dominance and decision advantage across the U.S. military and homeland security missions. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, total funding $91.5M) - **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, USA - **Founded**: 2019 - **Founders**: Brett Granberg (CEO) and Nini Hamrick (President) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Defense and Space Manufacturing; National Security Software - **Target customers**: U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community, Homeland Security – including combatant commands (INDOPACOM, SOCOM, AFSOC, etc.) and federal agencies. - **Mission**: Build 21st-century software that operates at the speed of modern conflict to give the U.S. and its allies battlefield information dominance and decision advantage. ## Products & Services - **[Decrypt](https://www.vannevarlabs.com/)** – Flagship product: a foreign text workflow platform that processes vast amounts of open-source intelligence (OSINT), translates languages (Mandarin, Russian, etc.), and surfaces critical patterns and insights for intelligence officers. SaaS deployed at the tactical edge. - **[Curator](https://research.contrary.com/report/vannevar-labs)** – (Beta) A translation and search-and-discovery tool built on top of Decrypt’s data pipeline. - **Unreleased Products** – At least two additional tools in beta (as of Nov 2024) focused on computer vision and/or NLP for battlefield applications. - **Forward Deployed Engineering** – Custom integration and mission support for specific units, often requiring security clearances. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not disclosed (last known post-Series B in 2023) - **Total Funding**: $91.5M - Seed (Apr 2019): $4.5M - Seed (Jan 2021): undisclosed amount, led by Costanoa Ventures and General Catalyst - Series A (Aug 2021): $12M, led by Costanoa Ventures and Point72 Ventures - Series B (Jan 2023): $75M, led by Felicis (with 7 investors) - **Annual Revenue**: Conflicting reports – [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vannevar-labs) lists $25M; [Contrary Research](https://research.contrary.com/report/vannevar-labs) states revenue grew from $3.5M in 2021 to $80M in 2024, achieving profitability within three years. - **Key Customers & Partners**: U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, National Air and Space Intelligence Center; partner with Databricks (announced Oct 2024). - **Notable Investors**: Costanoa Ventures, General Catalyst, Point72 Ventures, Felicis. - **Growth Signals**: Featured on Forbes AI 50 (2024 & 2025); headcount reportedly over 200 as of Dec 2025 (per Contrary); active in major joint exercises (Balikatan 2025, Talisman Sabre 2025); secured a $99M production contract from the Defense Innovation Unit in late 2024. ## Competitive Advantages - **Rare Proprietary Data** – Over one petabyte of adversarial, hard-to-access data that powers fine-tuned AI models not available to commercial firms. - **Tactical Edge Deployment** – AI systems designed to run at the edge, on low-bandwidth battlefield environments, ensuring real-time decision superiority. - **Rapid DoD Adoption** – Uses flexible Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements and DIU partnerships to bypass traditional procurement timelines. - **Cross-Domain Expertise** – Combines talent from elite military units (SEALs, Marines, Intelligence) with top tech companies (Google, Palantir, Scale AI, Amazon, Apple). - **Profitability at Scale** – Achieved profitability within three years – a rare achievement in defense tech. ## Strategic Focus - **Expand International & Homeland Security** – Growing footprint beyond all‑military to include Homeland Security, border security, and diplomatic economic security tools. - **Agentic AI Platform** – Building “armies of agents” that can autonomously steer fleets, detect threats, and keep missiles from flying, with human-in-the-loop oversight. - **Indo‑Pacific Deterrence** – Deepening capabilities for theater‑specific deterrence and partner‑nation data sharing. - **Talent Heavy‑Up** – Actively hiring for 28+ roles (as of mid‑2026) across engineering, mission, and operations, especially those requiring TS/SCI clearances. ## Why Work Here - **Mission‑Driven Culture** – Described as “a workplace like no other” where ex‑Googlers work alongside ex‑SEALs to build AI that protects American lives. Employees focus on “real‑world difference” rather than incremental consumer apps. - **Work Environment** – Hybrid / remote‑friendly, though many roles require on‑site presence in D.C., Honolulu, or other cleared facilities. Remote positions exist for those with existing clearances. - **Engineering Philosophy** – Emphasis on building agent‑based systems, working with rare datasets, and pushing AI to the tactical edge. Employees cite high compensation but note work‑life balance challenges (rating 2.7/5 on Glassdoor). - **Career Growth** – Rapidly growing organization with direct exposure to defense decision‑makers, opportunities to lead mission‑critical deployments, and a strong alumni network feeding into top defense tech (Palantir, Anduril, Scale AI). - **Security Clearance Required** – Most engineering and mission roles require (or sponsor) U.S. government security clearances (TS/SCI). This is a strong signal of deep‑end work. ## Sources 1. [vannevarlabs.com](https://www.vannevarlabs.com/) – Company website 2. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vannevar-labs) – LinkedIn Company Page (financials, headcount, reviews) 3. [research.contrary.com](https://research.contrary.com/report/vannevar-labs) – Contrary Research Report (funding details, revenue, products, headcount, customers) 4. [job-boards.greenhouse.io](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vannevarlabs) – Greenhouse careers page (open roles, job descriptions) 5. [vannevarlabs.com/careers/open-roles](https://www.vannevarlabs.com/careers/open-roles/) – Official open roles listing ## Other roles at Vannevar - [Government Contracts Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/government-contracts-manager-vannevar-remote-a4ncnwmaa3mb) - [Application Security Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/application-security-engineer-vannevar-remote-kqtbd3px6f06) - [Senior Software Engineer, Search](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-search-vannevar-remote-w2scbtqsq6wy) - [Engineering Manager, AI Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-ai-platform-vannevar-remote-20ns4yn7q0q5) - [Senior Software Engineer, Full-Stack - Security Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-full-stack-security-platform-vannevar-remote-1re81zetr7a8) - [Mission Lead - San Diego (Clearance Required)](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-lead-san-diego-clearance-required-vannevar-san-diego-s36svykxp8xx) — San Diego, CA - [Mission Lead - Cyber (Clearance Required)](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-lead-cyber-clearance-required-vannevar-washington-district-of-columbia-g4vr9246am4r) — Washington District of Columbia, United States - [Mission Lead, Tampa (Clearance Required)](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-lead-tampa-clearance-required-vannevar-tampa-florida-5e4erszmr6dv) — Tampa Florida, United States - [Senior Mission Manager - International (Clearance Required)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mission-manager-international-clearance-required-vannevar-washington-gma749m0sf2b) — Washington District of Columbia, United States - [Engineering Manager, Security Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-security-platform-vannevar-remote-batag39zk9jb)