# Senior Forward-Deployed Engineer, Federal

**Company:** [Deepgram](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/deepgram)
**Location:** Washington, DC
**Role:** ML Engineering
**Salary:** $160k – $200k/yr
**Experience:** 5+ years
**Skills:** Python, JavaScript, Rust, Kubernetes, Terraform, Aws Govcloud, Azure Government, NLP, LLMs, FedRAMP, Fisma
**Posted:** 2026-03-06

> Senior Forward-Deployed Engineer embeds with federal customers to deploy Voice AI solutions, owning full technical lifecycle from PoC to production. Requires 5+ years experience, TS/SCI clearance, full-stack skills in Python/JS/Rust, and federal deployment expertise.

## Job Description

## Opportunity
Deepgram is seeking a Senior Applied Engineer operating as a Forward-Deployed Engineer (FDE) with a focus on federal customers. Own the full technical lifecycle of federal engagements, from discovery and proof-of-concept through production deployment and optimization. Embed with strategic federal accounts to build mission-critical Voice AI applications, guide adoption, and influence product roadmap.

## What You'll Do
- Own technical delivery across federal deployments, from first prototype to stable production
- Embed deeply with federal customers to design and build mission-critical applications powered by Deepgram's Voice AI models
- Lead technical discovery and solution design for federal prospects and customers, partnering with Account Executives
- Prototype and build full-stack integrations using **Python**, **JavaScript**, **Rust**, or comparable stacks
- Enable successful deployments across customer environments by delivering observable systems
- Proactively guide federal stakeholders on maximizing operational value from Deepgram's platform
- Scope work, sequence delivery, and remove blockers early
- Build and manage relationships with customer leadership and technical stakeholders
- Contribute directly to code when clarity or momentum depends on it
- Codify working patterns into tools, playbooks, reference architectures
- Share field feedback with Product and Engineering teams
- Serve as an escalation point for complex technical issues
- Analyze deployment patterns to identify product improvement opportunities

## It's Important To Us That You Have
- **Active Top Secret/SCI (TS/SCI) security clearance, or equivalent**
- **5+ years** of engineering or technical deployment experience, ideally in customer-facing or government environments
- Strong software engineering background with professional development experience in at least one modern programming language, such as **Python**, **JavaScript**, or similar
- Proven ability to scope and deliver complex systems in fast-moving or ambiguous contexts
- Experience building and deploying production systems in government or similarly constrained environments
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Track record of navigating complex sales or procurement cycles in the federal space
- Willingness to travel up to 50%, including on-site work at government facilities

## It Would Be Great if You Had
- Experience with speech recognition, **NLP**, **AI/Voice agents**, or related AI technologies
- Familiarity with cloud deployment models (**AWS GovCloud**, **Azure Government**), **Kubernetes**, **Terraform**, and related infrastructure
- Experience building or deploying systems powered by **LLMs** or generative models
- Knowledge of **FedRAMP**, **FISMA**, or other government compliance frameworks
- Experience with API-first products and developer tools
- Background in sales methodologies such as **MEDDIC** or Solution Selling
- Experience developing automation solutions, self-service tools, and technical documentation

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