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Forward Deployed Product Engineer

$155K - $175K Arvada, CO, US Mid Posted June 03, 2026

Role Description

What You’ll Be Doing ========================

Our customers run satellite missions on our software. Failure isn't an option. As a Forward Deployed Product Engineer, you make sure our software holds up at the edge, where it matters most.

You'll also spot what's missing, what could be simpler, and what should exist but doesn't yet, then turn those observations into product direction.

This is a product role as much as an engineering one. You'll work in the field, in ops centers, and alongside customers. You're a generalist who moves across the full stack, from infrastructure to frontend, and you use AI as leverage to ship faster. At Quindar, we believe the future belongs to engineers who use AI to move faster, build better, and shape the next generation of our products

Key Responsibilities ========================

  • Configure and deploy our software in customer environments, ensuring reliability and performance across complex workflows.
  • Troubleshoot issues across backend APIs, cloud infrastructure, databases, and the frontend.
  • Travel to customer sites and embed with operations teams, building trusted technical relationships.
  • Prototype products and iterate quickly with live customer data and direct feedback.
  • Act as the voice of the customer in product discussions, translating field insights into roadmap priorities, solutions, and integrations.
  • Partner with Product & Engineering to turn successful prototypes into production code.
  • Develop playbooks for repeatable integrations and maintain clear documentation and training resources.

Qualifications ==================

  • Education:

+ Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Aerospace, Engineering, or a related field. * Experience:

+ 3+ years of experience in software engineering, with a focus on customer-facing roles. + Proven track record of building, deploying, or supporting production software in mission-critical environments. * Technical Skills:

+ Proficiency in Python; experience with TypeScript, Java, or similar is a plus. + Experience building software with AI tools such as Cursor, Amp, ChatGPT + Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), databases, and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes). * Soft Skills:

+ Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. + Strong product sense: ability to question requirements, spot patterns, solve problems for the users. + Bias toward action: comfortable shipping prototypes quickly and iterating. + Adaptability and curiosity, thriving in ambiguous, fast-changing environments. * Certifications:

+ Relevant certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Certified Kubernetes Administrator) are a plus. * Active US Security Clearance (TS/SCI) required

ITAR REQUIREMENTS =====================

  • To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Why you'll love working at Quindar ======================================

  • We work in a cutting edge industry and you will get the opportunity to be part of a small team with a large direct impact on the success of our customers’ space missions!
  • We take work life balance very seriously. We require employees to take 15 days off but provide unlimited PTO and follow most US federal government holidays.
  • Mental health is just as important as physical so we provide quarterly health & wellness benefits.
  • Comprehensive health insurance for you and your family with 100% coverage for employees.
  • We encourage employees to save for retirement and provide 4% 401(k) matching.
  • Each quarter we have an annual company offsite. Previous locations include San Francisco, Palm Springs, Nashville, Denver, Santa Fe, New Orleans, San Diego, Bozeman, and New York City.
  • Our culture and company is evolving. You will be key in creating the next major or minor version!

Compensation Range: $155K - $175K

About Forward Deployed Engineering

Forward Deployed Engineers are embedded directly with customers to build custom solutions, integrate products into existing infrastructure, and bridge the gap between product engineering and customer success. The role combines deep technical skills with the ability to operate in client environments and translate business requirements into working software.

Originally pioneered by Palantir, the FDE model has spread across AI, enterprise SaaS, and cloud infrastructure companies. FDEs write production code, architect integrations, train customer teams, and feed product insights back to the core engineering organization. At companies like OpenAI, Salesforce, and Databricks, FDE teams are treated as elite engineering units that can ship custom solutions in days rather than quarters.

Typical FDE stack: Python, TypeScript, SQL, REST/GraphQL APIs, cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure), and increasingly LLM APIs and AI orchestration frameworks. Strong communication and the ability to context-switch between technical and business conversations are as important as coding ability.

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