Forward Deployed Engineer

About Mattermost Federal

Mattermost Federal builds secure collaboration platforms used by U.S. defense, intelligence, and national security organizations operating in the most demanding environments in the world.

About the Role

We are looking for Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) (located near Baltimore, MD or Herndon, VA) who want to solve real operational problems alongside mission teams. In this role you will work directly with operators, analysts, and engineers to deploy and build systems that are used every day in mission environments.

This is not a traditional engineering role. You will operate close to the mission, often inside classified environments, working through ambiguity and building solutions that have immediate operational impact.

The problems you will work on here are hard, ambiguous, and consequential.

What You'll Do

• Work directly with defense and intelligence organizations to understand operational problems
• Deploy and integrate Mattermost in classified and mission-critical environments
• Build plugins, integrations, and automations that enable operational workflows
• Prototype new capabilities quickly and iterate based on operator feedback
• Debug complex systems operating in constrained environments
• Help shape the evolution of the Mattermost platform based on mission needs

You will move between writing code, deploying infrastructure, and working directly with operators, often within the same week. Travel is typically approximately one week per month onsite with customers.

What We're Looking For

• Strong engineering ability (Go, Python, TypeScript, or similar)
• Comfort working across the full stack from infrastructure to applications
• Ability to solve open-ended technical problems
• Strong communication skills with both engineers and operators
• Willingness to travel approximately one week per month

Nice to Have

• Experience working with DoD, IC, or national security organizations
• Experience deploying systems in secure or classified environments
• Familiarity with Kubernetes, distributed systems, and APIs
• Experience building integrations or operational tooling

AI-Forward Engineering

Mattermost Federal is aggressively adopting AI-enabled workflows across mission operations. FDEs will be among the first engineers deploying and operationalizing AI capabilities in secure environments, including:

• AI agents that summarize operational channels and generate SITREPs
• AI-assisted mission timelines and decision logs
• Knowledge retrieval across operational history
• AI tools that help operators understand fast-moving mission data

Why This Role Exists

The best software is built close to the problem. Forward Deployed Engineers at Mattermost Federal work directly with the people using the systems we build. You will see problems firsthand, build solutions quickly, and deploy them into environments where reliability, security, and speed matter.

Compensation

Mattermost takes a market-based approach to pay. Actual compensation may vary based on location, skills, experience, qualifications, and market conditions.

Target Salary Range: $130,000 – $200,000 USD

U.S. Eligibility & Compliance

• U.S. citizenship required - Candidates must be located in the United States and eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance. For more information visit Security Clearances — United States Department of State
• Active TS/SCI clearance preferred; must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance
• Applicants must meet eligibility requirements for access to export-controlled information as defined by U.S. export control laws, including EAR and ITAR. For more information visit the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.