Senior Software Engineer, FDE

Ditto • Austin, TX

10d • Remote

About The Position

As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you are the technical tip of the spear. FDEs are elite, versatile engineers who work shoulder-to-shoulder with our most critical users to solve complex challenges in real time. Your primary mission is to radically decrease the time-to-value of our software by integrating it directly into the user's operational environment.
Because you see firsthand how our technology performs in the wild, you will also act as a crucial conduit, feeding technical insights and feature requirements back to our core product engineering team. This role requires a highly adaptable problem-solver who is comfortable moving fast, navigating ambiguity, and figuring things out quickly in high-stakes environments.

Requirements

• Clearance Requirement: Must hold an active TS/SCI clearance (Due to federal security clearance requirements, U.S. Citizenship is strictly required for this role).
• 5+ years of experience in software engineering, forward deployed engineering, or site reliability engineering (SRE). This includes hands-on experience deploying, configuring, and troubleshooting complex systems in live production environments.
• 2+ years of technical experience working with distributed systems and cloud-native architectures. This includes practical experience with container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes, RKE2, K3s) and event streaming or data messaging platforms.
• Prior experience with edge computing, state management, and complex data synchronization. You should understand the challenges of eventual consistency and decentralized architectures.
• A highly adaptable, problem-solving mindset, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, move fast, and balance immediate operational fixes with long-term technical fidelity.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal. As the crucial bridge between the operational edge and our core development team, you must be able to translate complex, edge-case technical realities and user workflows into clear, actionable requirements for product engineers.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with secure data boundaries and mixed classification data. This includes hands-on familiarity with architecting or troubleshooting data flows across Cross Domain Solutions (CDS) to ensure secure, unidirectional data synchronization between unclassified and classified networks.
• Prior experience navigating highly secure cloud infrastructures. You must understand the strict compliance and architectural constraints of operating at high impact levels (IL5/IL6).
• Experience with advanced networking concepts and multi-protocol routing. This includes troubleshooting data flows and optimizing payloads across constrained, non-traditional, or intermittent networks.
• Prior experience with CRDTs (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) or local-first software architectures to manage complex data synchronization without a central server.
• Direct experience operating at the tactical edge, including hardware/software integration with military communication systems, tactical radios, or mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs).
• Familiarity with lightweight container orchestration and deploying workloads in highly resource-constrained environments (e.g., K3s, RKE2, or Nomad).
• Previous experience working directly with DoD, IC, or federal customers, with an understanding of navigating highly secure, air-gapped, or classified network environments.
• A background in systems programming (e.g., Rust, Go, or C++) alongside standard scripting, allowing for deep optimization of routing protocols and edge services.

Responsibilities

• Implement the Core Aggregation Node: Lead the on-site architecture, deployment, and configuration of our central data hub within a highly secure, distributed network environment.
• Master Edge-to-Core Synchronization: You won't just be standing up standard relational databases. You will architect and troubleshoot complex, peer-to-peer data synchronization across edge devices utilizing CRDTs (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) to manage state in decentralized environments.
• Optimize Multi-Protocol Routing: Ensure reliable data flow from the tactical edge to the core by configuring and optimizing routing across heterogeneous and constrained network transports, including BLE, local Wi-Fi, and tactical radios.
• Solve Problems in Real-Time: Act as the first line of technical defense, rapidly diagnosing and resolving infrastructure, network, and software issues as they arise on the ground.
• Bridge the Gap: Translate the unique, edge-case operational realities you observe (e.g., severe bandwidth constraints, disconnected nodes) into actionable technical requirements for the core product development team.

Benefits

• We offer competitive salaries and meaningful equity. We believe everyone on the team should have a stake in what we’re building.
• Benefits vary by region to make sure you're covered in the ways that matter most. In the US, that includes health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, plus a 401(k) and flexible spending accounts.
• Regardless of where you live, everyone at Ditto can utilize flexible time off. And while we work remotely, our Atlanta and San Francisco offices are open if you ever want a place to work or meet up with teammates.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees