---
title: 'Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Cleared (TS/SCI) at Kaizen Labs'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-software-engineer-cleared-ts-sci-kaizen-labs-washington-q5rzmst4hpws'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-04'
---

# Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Cleared (TS/SCI) at Kaizen Labs

- **Company:** Kaizen Labs
- **Location:** Washington, DC
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-08-24
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-04
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kaizenlabs/b788f650-c274-4029-88fa-0607f92b9f09

## Job description

Government technology has failed citizens, public servants, and service members for decades.

Kaizen powers America’s application layer. We replace the legacy systems federal agencies run on with modern software, built with craft. The ticketing platform a resident uses to visit a presidential library. The marketplace DoW uses for counter-drone procurement to protect lives and critical infrastructure. The system a Veteran uses to access benefits. We build systems of record, of national consequence. Our AI-native modules and harness allow us to do so in weeks and months, not years.

This year, our revenue has grown 35x. Next year, our software will serve over 100 million Americans across dozens of federal agencies.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City and DC, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital.

## CLEARANCE AND ELIGIBILITY

This role requires an active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance. United States citizenship is required, because it is a condition of eligibility for the clearance the role depends on.

## THE ROLE

Most government software was built for compliance, not for the people who use it. Kaizen is changing that, and the engineers who work here are the reason it's possible. At the senior level, this role carries more than code: you're shaping how AI-native features get designed, scoped, and shipped across a platform that millions of Americans touch when they need something from their government. You'll be one of a small number of engineers with direct influence over what gets built and how: setting technical direction, mentoring teammates, and driving decisions that stick.

## LOCATION

This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ or DC office. Candidates must reside in New York or DC or be able to commute to New York City or DC to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays).

## WHAT YOU'LL DO

- Architect and ship full-stack features end-to-end, from scoping and technical design through build, iteration, and production
- Build and integrate against the Palantir stack: Foundry ontologies and pipelines, AIP agents, and Maven Smart System workflows
- Build inside classification and data-handling constraints rather than around them
- Lead the development of AI-powered product surfaces: intelligent intake flows, real-time constituent assistants, automated case routing, agency operator dashboards
- Set technical direction and raise the bar on code quality. Your decisions become the patterns the rest of the team builds on
- Engage directly with federal agency stakeholders to translate messy real-world requirements into clean, shippable product
- Own platform reliability and performance at government scale: real SLAs, real users, no abstraction layer between you and accountability
- Mentor earlier-career engineers through code review, pairing, and direct technical feedback

## WHAT YOU'LL BRING

- 5+ years of professional engineering experience, with a track record of owning complex features and systems, not just executing on them
- Hands-on development experience with Palantir Foundry, AIP, or Maven Smart System. You have modeled against the ontology, shipped pipelines or AIP agents, and can say what the platform does well and where you had to work around it
- Deep fluency in React / Next.js and Node.js / TypeScript / Postgres. Fast, not just functional
- AI coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, Claude) are already baked into how you work. You've shipped with them, and you move measurably faster because of it
- You've built something real: a product, an open source project, a system you designed and stood behind
- Proven ability to operate in ambiguity: you define the problem as often as you solve it, and you don't stall waiting for the answer to come to you
- A genuine orientation toward the end user, the person on the other side of the screen isn't an abstraction to you

STRONG CANDIDATES MAY ALSO...

- Have shipped software inside a classified or otherwise accredited environment, and know where the real friction lives
- Have been a Forward Deployed Engineer, or worked a program where Palantir was prime and you were the one making the integration actually work
- Have touched federal, state, or local government tech, or have built in other regulated, high-stakes environments where the constraints were real
- Have cloud deployment depth: AWS, Vercel, GitHub Actions, ECS/Fargate
- Have experience with design systems and component libraries and a clear opinion on when a component is right vs. just functional
- Have led technical work in an early-stage environment where the job was figuring it out, not following a playbook

## WHAT KAIZEN OFFERS

Health & Insurance

- 100% coverage across the board: medical through Oxford/United (Gold and Platinum PPO plans), dental through Guardian PPO, and vision through Beam — all fully covered for employees, with 100% coverage for dependents.
- $100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA.
- One Medical membership, on us — same-day primary care, 24/7 virtual visits, and offices all over the city.
- Fertility and family-building support through Carrot.
- 401(k) through Guideline, with a 2% company match.

Family & Time Off

- 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents.
- Unlimited PTO, with a two-week minimum (we mean it when we say take time off!)
- Closed for all federal holidays.
- Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas.
- Company offsites throughout the year.

Office & Remote Setup

- Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees. $500 for remote employees.
- $50/month commuter benefit (company contribution).
- Expensed lunch while in the office.
- Company-provided laptop of your choice.

Wellness

- Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse https://grindhousemhttn.com/ — right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg). A $225/month value, on us. For remote employees, $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement.

Stipends

- $100/month utility stipend.
- $500/year professional development.
- $250/year recreation.
- $300/quarter pet care stipend.

## About Kaizen Labs

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Kaizen Labs provides a modular, AI-native software platform that helps local, state, and federal government agencies modernize public services like recreation management, permitting, parking, transit, and payments.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, USA
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Nikhil Reddy

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Government Technology (GovTech), Civic Technology, Public Sector Software
- **Target customers**: Local, state, and federal government agencies in the United States
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use.

## Products & Services
- **Kaizen Platform**: A modular, AI-native operating system for public services. It replaces legacy systems with a unified platform covering recreation management (reservations, memberships, point of sale), permitting and licensing, parking management, transit and fare management, tolling infrastructure, digital billing and payment collection, and case management. The platform is designed to be adopted in phases.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding of $35M raised across 2 rounds (Seed and Series A)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: NEA, a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital
- **Growth Signals**: The platform already reaches 40 million residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states. The company has grown to 42 employees as of April 2026. It raised a $21M Series A in October 2025, signaling strong investor confidence and growth trajectory.

## Competitive Advantages
- **AI-native platform**: Kaizen embeds AI into every interaction (from permit applications to benefits enrollment), differentiating it from legacy government tech vendors.
- **Modular, phased adoption**: Agencies can start with one service (e.g., recreation) and expand over time, lowering the barrier to entry for cash-strapped governments.
- **Design-first philosophy**: The company believes beautiful, intuitive software is how government technology earns trust, a stark contrast to the clunky, 90s-era systems residents are used to.
- **Breadth of coverage**: Already serves 40 million residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states, spanning local, state, and federal levels.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expansion across government levels**: Moving from its roots in outdoor recreation to a full-stack platform for local, state, and federal services.
- **AI-native development**: Embedding AI into every product interaction to make public services smarter and more efficient.
- **Scaling the platform**: Continuing to add modules and agency partners to become the "operating system for America’s public services."

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a team of "builders, designers, and operators" who are "change-seekers." The company emphasizes "Design is Everyone's Job" and "Collective Ownership" — every employee is accountable for the quality and trustworthiness of the product.
- **Work Model**: Hybrid. Employees work from home on Mondays and Fridays, and are in the office 3 days a week (Tuesday–Thursday) for intentional collaboration.
- **Location**: HQ in New York, NY. Some roles are listed as remote or hybrid.
- **Tech Stack**: TypeScript, JavaScript, Node.js, React, Next.js, GraphQL, PostgreSQL, AWS, Google Cloud, Vercel, GitHub, Linear, Slack, Salesforce, Outreach.
- **Notable Perks**: The company is building a culture of collective ownership and high design standards, with a focus on meaningful impact in the public sector.

## Sources
1. [kaizenlabs.co](https://www.kaizenlabs.co/)
2. [kaizenlabs.co/careers](https://www.kaizenlabs.co/careers/)
3. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/kaizen-labs)
4. [tracxn.com](https://tracxn.com/d/companies/kaizenlabs/__4v0zyP-x3-EA2YdE8qp-2lRpYlAKgenz9fUD8HxFbDY)
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kaizenlabs)

## Other roles at Kaizen Labs

- [Senior Product Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-designer-kaizen-labs-new-york-xpt986ddpwdn) — New York, NY
- [Head of Talent](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-talent-kaizen-labs-new-york-hghddqh370wh) — New York, NY
- [Senior Recruiter, GTM](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-recruiter-gtm-kaizen-labs-new-york-3jrcrygpsve4) — New York, NY
- [Founding Filmmaker & Video Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-filmmaker-video-lead-kaizen-labs-new-york-hgzk6y53d67g) — New York, NY
- [People Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/people-operations-manager-kaizen-labs-new-york-8tdwkre5m5sp) — New York, NY
- [Senior Cleared Software Engineer (TS/SCI)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-cleared-software-engineer-ts-sci-kaizen-labs-new-york-zejdkq2qr68b) — New York, NY
- [Digital Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/digital-designer-kaizen-labs-new-york-wp26n13897yp) — New York, NY
- [Government Contracts Administrator (Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/government-contracts-administrator-contract-kaizen-labs-washington-gmga41wyywwp) — Washington, DC
- [Federal Growth Lead, DoW](https://feeny.ai/job/federal-growth-lead-dow-kaizen-labs-washington-gbvyf8fjk6yw) — Washington, DC
- [Federal Growth Lead, FedCiv](https://feeny.ai/job/federal-growth-lead-fedciv-kaizen-labs-washington-edvcaee4e5b5) — Washington, DC