Forward Deployed Engineer - Federal

About the Role

This is an unparalleled opportunity to join our team as a foundational engineer in our newly formed federal group. As one of the very first engineers in this critical space, you will not only be instrumental in shaping the technical direction and initial project successes but will also play a key role in the strategic growth and scaling of the entire federal engineering organization, establishing core engineering practices, defining our technical stack for federal clients, and directly influencing the culture of a fast-growing, mission-driven team.

Deployed Engineers bring technical depth to Cognition’s most federal enterprise engagements.

You’ll own a narrow set of strategic accounts, tackling the hardest problems—whether that’s architecting a deployment, building an integration, or debugging something no one else can figure out.

A core part of this role is shaping the product. You'll identify patterns from the field, build on the product edge to unblock customers, and translate those learnings into requirements that inform what core engineering builds next. When customers hit friction that the product doesn’t solve, you’re the person who figures out what should exist—and makes it happen.

Core Responsibilities

• Operate across strategic accounts, providing technical depth on complex engagements
• Own the technical direction and success of customer accounts and deployments
• Translate customer pain points into product direction: scope requirements, define solutions, and drive implementation
• Be the connective link between our Federal GTM team and core product engineering teams
• Build product extensions and integrations using Cognition’s APIs and platform primitives
• Architect and maintain complex enterprise deployments
• Handle escalated technical issues requiring deep debugging or architectural judgment
• Be a credible technical voice to engineering on what the field needs

Requirements

• Strong engineering foundation
• Have operated cross-functionally—whether at a startup wearing multiple hats or by driving product/commercial thinking at a larger company
• Experience working within the government or working in a government focused company
• Have a track record of pursuing excellence at high levels, in any domain
• Proficiency in Python, TypeScript, or similar; comfort navigating unfamiliar codebases
• Experience scoping and shipping features in collaboration with product and engineering teams

Nice to Have

• Built software at companies known for engineering rigor and want broader impact
• Track record in forward-deployed engineering, solutions architecture, or similar technical roles
• Experience with enterprise infrastructure (cloud deployments, networking, security)
• Want to stay close to customers while shaping how the product evolves
• Enjoy hard problems without obvious solutions and the autonomy to figure them out
• High tolerance for ambiguity, intensity, and sustained effort when the problem demands it