Senior Software Engineer - FDE
Forward Deployed Engineer | Bristol | £65-85k+ (DOE)
The hottest new job role in Tech - The Forward Deployed Engineer.
We're working with one of Europe's fastest-scaling technology companies in the sensing, AI, and communications space.
This is a genuinely hybrid role: part engineer, part embedded consultant. You'll spend significant time on-site with customers, in their operational environments, turning complex real-world problems into deployed technical capability. It's not a role for engineers who want to stay behind a desk shipping features against a fixed spec. The requirements here are ambiguous, environments are challenging, and you'll be trusted to work it out alongside the people using the product.
What you'll actually be doing:
- Embedding with customers and end users to understand their missions, workflows and technical constraints — often before anyone's written a requirement down
- Designing and building pragmatic technical solutions across software, APIs, data, infrastructure and networks
- Rapidly prototyping to test ideas directly with users
- Owning deployment end-to-end — configuring, integrating, testing and troubleshooting across cloud, on-prem, and potentially disconnected/edge environments
- Acting as the feedback loop between customers in the field and the Product/Engineering teams back home
What we're looking for:
- Strong software engineering fundamentals — Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Java or similar
- Solid grounding in Linux, networking, APIs and modern software practices
- Real experience deploying and troubleshooting systems across cloud and/or on-prem environments
- Familiarity with Docker/Kubernetes
- A track record of working directly with customers to understand problems and deliver solutions — not just build against someone else's brief
- Comfort owning ambiguous problems end-to-end, and making sound engineering trade-offs under pressure
Nice-to-haves: experience in live operational or mission-critical environments, AI/ML or geospatial/data engineering exposure, work in disconnected or bandwidth-constrained settings, or a background in defence, national security, emergency services or critical infrastructure.
Important: this role requires eligibility for DV clearance. You don't need to hold it already, but you do need to be eligible. That means sole UK citizenship,.
Expect frequent travel across the UK and internationally.
Salary is flexible for the right person. £65-85k, with room to go higher depending on experience.
If this sounds like you or you know someone who fits the bill then get in touch.