Forward Deployed Software Engineer
Air
Remote · Arlington, VA · Posted December 9, 2025
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Where Arlington, VA ranks
Where Arlington, VA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Best cities for education pay after cost of living$124k · of 8
- #2Best all-round cities for AI careers in the Southeast89 / 100 · of 33
- #3Best cities for government pay after cost of living$140k · of 18
- #3Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Mid-Atlantic456 openings · of 68
- #4Best cities for aerospace and defense pay after cost of living$152k · of 19
- #4Best cities for AI-skill jobs in the Southeast14% · of 87
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
How AI is used in this kind of work
Among software developers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for software developers: 29% (some).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
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About the job
Company Description
Air is the leader in Enterprise Readiness. Our mission is to establish readiness as a real-time condition that is continuously achieved. Today, a dangerous Readiness Gap exists between what the front line needs and what is delivered. Our AI-native platform, Air Enterprise Readiness, aligns development, production, delivery, and sustainment into one coordinated execution system for government agencies and industrial suppliers. By revealing true capacity, exposing real constraints, coordinating resources, and executing at the speed of operational demands, the front line gets what it needs to succeed.
Job Description
We are seeking self-starting, customer-value-oriented software engineers to join our Forward Deployed Engineering team. As a Forward Deployed Software Engineer at Air, you are accountable for building new and differentiated 0-to-1 capabilities, in the field with our customers, end to end. You are motivated by moving quickly but responsibly against urgent and compelling opportunities to deliver valuable software-driven outcomes to our customers. The idea of building something new energizes you and want to work on problems that matter, and you want to own. You understand and appreciate the value of face-to-face interactions with end users, and constantly seek to push the boundaries of what is possible.
In order to do this job well, you must be a curious and eager problem solver. You must possess exceptional judgment when it comes to balancing competing priorities and making tradeoffs. You must be flexible, you must value outcomes over process, you must thrive in ambiguous environments, and above all else focus on solving valuable problems for our customers.
In a typical week, the individual who fills this position could expect to:
- Spend the day onsite with users, listening to problems and asking questions seeking to understand pain points
- Collaborate with product managers and designers to scope, architect, and deliver 0-to-1 product initiatives and prototypes.
- Build and deliver working, customer-facing prototypes.
- Assess, prioritize, and correct the most important gaps in prototype solutions under development based on user feedback and in partnership with product managers
- Fail often, iterate quickly, and try again
This role is a full-time position located out of our office in Arlington, VA, Pittsburgh, PA, or Remote.
This role may require up to 50% travel.
Scope of Responsibilities
Conduct customer site visits to diagnose and understand pain points
Participate in the end-to-end software development of new feature functionality and design capabilities
Iterate quickly to progressively unlock customer value
Craft clean, testable, and maintainable code
Qualifications
U.S. Citizenship is required
Required Skills:
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field, or equivalent work experience
1+ years of front-end or back-end software development experience (SQL, Java and/or Typescript/React)
Ability to work independently with little supervision
A burning desire to work in a challenging, fast-paced tech environment
Desired Skills:
Current possession of a U.S. security clearance or the ability to obtain one with our sponsorship
Experience in or exposure to the nuances of a startup or other entrepreneurial environment
Experience working within the boundaries of a federally accredited software environment
Experience in or exposure to the nuances of a startup or other entrepreneurial environment
Experience working in a customer-facing or consulting role
We firmly believe that past performance is the best indicator of future performance. If you thrive while building solutions to complex problems, are a self-starter, and are passionate about making an impact in global security, we’re eager to hear from you.
Air is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans status or any other characteristic protected by law.