---
title: 'Mission Operator - Forward Deployed Engineer at Scout AI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mission-operator-forward-deployed-engineer-scout-ai-paso-robles-8n3kz5rdsvbk'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Mission Operator - Forward Deployed Engineer at Scout AI

- **Company:** Scout AI
- **Location:** Paso Robles, CA
- **Compensation:** $85k–$140k
- **Posted:** 2025-08-17
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/scoutai/jobs/4888366008

## Job description

The future of defense will be decided by those who field intelligent machines at scale. At Scout AI, we’re developing Fury, the first robotic foundation model for defense, to give U.S. forces overwhelming, adaptable, and autonomous power across every domain. Fury enables human operators to command fleets of robots through natural language, and empowers those machines to sense, decide, and act together as one. This mission will ask everything of us: urgency, precision, and relentless work.

## The Role

We’re hiring Mission Operators to act as forward-deployed operators and field engineers for our unmanned ground vehicle programs. You’ll own system performance in real-world environments, executing field missions, supporting high-visibility customer demos, and ensuring platforms are mission-ready at all times. Operating at the intersection of engineering, operations, and customer engagement, you’ll run test events, operate autonomous systems, and troubleshoot issues across hardware and software in real time. You’ll work closely with engineers to validate performance, drive rapid iteration, and deliver actionable field feedback.

This is a hands-on, field-heavy role. You’ll deploy, operate, and recover systems in dynamic environments while maintaining high standards of safety, professionalism, and technical execution. You’ll also represent Scout in front of customers, clearly communicating system capabilities and performance under real-world conditions.

## Responsibilities

- Lead forward-deployed operation of autonomous and semi-autonomous ground systems in complex, real-world environments, supporting customer-facing demonstrations and field evaluations
- Execute and adapt mission test plans in dynamic conditions, ensuring successful outcomes while maintaining strict safety and operational standards
- Serve as the on-site technical authority during field operations, diagnosing and resolving mechanical, electrical, and software issues in real time
- Interface directly with high-priority customers and stakeholders, briefing system capabilities, conducting live demonstrations, and representing product performance in the field
- Coordinate end-to-end field logistics including system deployment, mobility, sustainment, and recovery across distributed test environments
- Drive system readiness through hands-on maintenance, inspection, and rapid repair of vehicles, payloads, and supporting equipment
- Capture and communicate actionable field insights to engineering and product teams, influencing system improvements and future development
- Maintain operational awareness of system health, performance, and limitations to ensure mission success under austere conditions
- Enforce and model disciplined safety practices for personnel, equipment, and autonomous system operations

## Qualifications

- Experience operating and sustaining vehicles, robotic systems, or complex field equipment in dynamic environments
- Proficiency in off-road driving, trailering, and executing operations in austere or rugged conditions
- Strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills, with the ability to diagnose and resolve issues across hardware and software systems
- High level of situational awareness with a disciplined approach to safety in field operations
- Effective communicator under pressure, capable of coordinating with engineering teams and interfacing with customers in real time
- Self-directed and adaptable, with the ability to operate independently in field-heavy, fast-paced environments
- Willingness and enthusiasm to spend significant time outdoors supporting field missions and test operations
- Mission-driven, with a strong interest in advancing autonomous systems for defense applications
- Ability to travel 50–75% to support testing, deployments, and customer engagements
- Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities
- Passion about defense of the United States and its allies
- May be expected to obtain and hold a U.S. Top Secret security clearance

## Why Join Scout

- Work on the world’s most important frontier, ensuring U.S. and allied dominance in the age of intelligent machines
- Be a core part of a team building the first defense-specific robotic foundation model
- Collaborate with some of the top engineers in autonomy, AI, and national security
- See your work deployed on real systems
- Help define the future of intelligent defense systems
- Backed by Draper Associates, Booz Allen Ventures, and other top investors

## Benefits

- Competitive base salary and bonus
- Meaningful equity
- Premium medical, dental, and vision plans with $0 paycheck contribution
- Competitive PTO and company holiday calendar
- Catered lunch daily and fully stocked kitchen
- EV charging
- Relocation assistance (depending on role eligibility)

The stated salary range below represents an estimated base pay only and reflects consideration of multiple compensation factors. Final salary offers may differ depending on factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience or training background, specialized skills, and business needs. Most full-time positions also include highly competitive equity awards, which form part of Scout AI's overall compensation package. In addition, Scout AI provides comprehensive, top-tier benefits to full-time employees.

US Salary Range $85,000—$140,000 USD

## About Scout AI

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Scout AI builds Fury, the first foundation model for defense robotics, enabling intelligent, autonomous unmanned systems for the U.S. military and its allies.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Funding: Series A at $100M)
- **Headquarters**: Sunnyvale, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Colby Adcock (CEO) and Collin Otis (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Defense and Space Manufacturing
- **Target customers**: U.S. Department of Defense, allied forces, defense contractors (B2G / B2B)
- **Mission**: “Enable the largest robot army in the world for the good guys” – a Silicon Valley values-driven approach to AI for national security.

## Products & Services
- **[Fury](https://scoutco.ai/)**: A multimodal Vision-Language-Action foundation model that turns any uncrewed platform (ground, air, sea, space) into an intelligent, collaborative teammate. Key capabilities:
  - Operates in real time in GPS-denied and communications-denied environments with no cloud dependency.
  - Uses only passive sensors (RGB or thermal camera); no LIDAR or radar required.
  - Supports natural language commands (voice, text, map inputs) and robot-to-robot communication for swarm coordination.
  - Built entirely on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware for low-cost, high-rate manufacturing.
  - Self-improving at the tactical edge through imitation learning and simulation.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$115M** – Seed round ($15M, April 2025) and Series A ($100M, April 2026) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scout-ai-official).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Booz Allen Ventures, Align Ventures, **Draper Associates** (Series A lead), Perot Jain. Growing network of defense ecosystem partners [scoutco.ai/company](https://scoutco.ai/company).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew **192.9% YoY** to 30 employees (as of mid-2026). 23 active job postings across AI, robotics, mission operations, and business development. Strong talent inflow from Anduril, Google, Kodiak, and U.S. Army [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scout-ai-official) | [greenhouse.io](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/scoutai).

## Competitive Advantages
- **First‑of‑its‑kind foundation model for defense robotics (Fury)** – not a narrow autonomy stack but a generalizable, multi-domain AI brain.
- **Hardware‑agnostic** – works with existing platforms and COTS components, enabling rapid integration without proprietary hardware lock-in.
- **Low‑power, passive sensing** – requires only a single camera stream, minimizing cost, weight, and electronic signature.
- **Natural language swarm coordination** – one operator can command fleets of heterogeneous robots, turning the current 1:1 operator‑robot ratio into a 1:many force multiplier.
- **Edge‑native design** – fully autonomous operation without connectivity, cloud, or GPS.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling Fury across all domains (ground, air, sea, space) and expanding partnerships with defense primes.
- Building out high‑rate, low‑cost manufacturing pipelines using COTS hardware.
- Aggressively hiring AI researchers, robotics engineers, and mission operators to maintain technology leadership.
- Positioning the U.S. and its allies to outpace adversaries (e.g., China) in robotic autonomy.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission‑driven**: Work on “the world’s most important frontier” – AI for national defense, with a stated commitment to democratic values.
- **Early‑stage rocket ship**: 192% YoY headcount growth; employees have direct impact on a small, lean team (30 people).
- **Culture**: Engineering‑heavy (32% technical headcount), with talent from top defense tech (Anduril, Kodiak), big tech (Google), and the military.
- **Work model**: On‑site in Sunnyvale, CA (HQ) and Paso Robles, CA (test & operations). Hybrid/remote limited – most roles are location‑specific.
- **Hot roles**: AI Engineers, AI Researchers, Robotics Software Engineers, Mission Operators (drone/ground systems), and Business Development for air dominance [greenhouse.io](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/scoutai).

## Sources
1. [scoutco.ai](https://scoutco.ai/) – company homepage, technology overview
2. [scoutco.ai/company](https://scoutco.ai/company) – mission, leadership, funding, partners
3. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scout-ai-official) – headcount, growth, financials, talent sources
4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/scout-ai-scoutcoai) – company culture, perks, job listings
5. [greenhouse.io](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/scoutai) – active job postings (23 roles)

## Other roles at Scout AI

- [Senior Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-scout-ai-sunnyvale-be8f8aqbcec4) — Sunnyvale, CA
- [Drone Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/drone-technician-scout-ai-sunnyvale-a2t93vt0b5qk) — Sunnyvale, CA
- [Manufacturing Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-engineer-scout-ai-sunnyvale-n6es17h6swqx) — Sunnyvale, CA
- [Senior Embedded Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-embedded-software-engineer-scout-ai-sunnyvale-6mzt9hkp6k76) — Sunnyvale, CA
- [Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-scout-ai-sunnyvale-y9xbcktdjer7) — Sunnyvale, CA
- [Mission Operator - UAV](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-operator-uav-scout-ai-paso-robles-3nfpevdqc4m9) — Paso Robles, CA
- [GTM Senior Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/gtm-senior-program-manager-scout-ai-sunnyvale-california-7es52hv9gwga) — Sunnyvale California, United States
- [Staff Software Engineer, Agent Harnessing](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-agent-harnessing-scout-ai-us-sunnyvale-xpeb1agamx5m) — US Sunnyvale, CA
- [Senior IT Systems Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-it-systems-engineer-scout-ai-sunnyvale-8bedy1s9fyv8) — Sunnyvale, CA
- [Vehicle Integration Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/vehicle-integration-technician-scout-ai-sunnyvale-california-ydhss2kymh0x) — Sunnyvale California, United States