About Defense Unicorns
Defense Unicorns is veteran-founded and mission-driven. The company’s vision is to advance freedom and independence globally by transforming how the U.S. Department of War builds, buys, delivers, and sustains software. We deliver secure, scalable software and AI solutions that function in cloud, on-prem, and tactical edge / air-gapped environments — making software a strategic deterrent for warfighters.
In this role you will join a team building the backbone of modern defense software delivery — helping ensure warfighters can deploy the latest capabilities rapidly, securely, and reliably.
Role Description:We are seeking a skilled and adaptable Forward-Deployed Autonomy Engineer to provide direct technical support to our Peat and UDS teams operating in dynamic, field-based environments. In this role, you will be embedded alongside mission heroes during integration events, exercises, and operational demonstrations, working shoulder-to-shoulder with other engineers to ensure success.
This role requires a strong software engineering background paired with hands-on experience in autonomous systems, distributed architectures, and tactical communications. You will be a critical technical resource in the field — diagnosing issues under pressure, integrating systems across platforms, and enabling the effective deployment of robotics and drone technologies in complex, real-world environments.
You will work closely with customer engineering teams, program leads, and cross-functional internal stakeholders to ensure our autonomy solutions perform reliably and meet mission objectives.
Responsibilities:- Provide on-site technical support at customer sites, integration events, field exercises, and demonstrations involving autonomous systems (robots and drones)
- Develop, integrate, and troubleshoot software components across distributed systems and autonomy platforms
- Support the design, configuration, and maintenance of communications infrastructure used in field deployments
- Assist in the integration and operation of command and control (C2) systems in tactical and semi-tactical environments
- Diagnose and resolve complex software, hardware, and system-level issues in time-sensitive field conditions
- Collaborate with customer engineering teams and internal engineers to achieve integration milestones and exercise objectives
- Document field findings, issues, and resolutions to support continuous improvement of product reliability and deployment readiness
- Provide feedback to internal product and engineering teams based on field observations to drive improvements
- Support pre-deployment testing and validation activities to ensure systems are field-ready
- Serve as a trusted technical representative of the company in customer-facing settings, maintaining professional relationships with defense stakeholders
- Participate in after-action reviews and contribute to lessons-learned processes following integration events and exercises
- Adapt quickly to evolving mission requirements and operational constraints in the field
Travel: Up to 25-50%, including domestic and international travel to customer sites, test ranges, and exercise locations.
Preferred Experience and Qualifications:- 4+ years of software engineering experience, with demonstrated experience in distributed systems and/or autonomous platforms
- Hands-on experience with robotics and/or unmanned systems (ground robots, drones/UAS)
- Experience working with communications infrastructure in field or tactical environments (mesh networks, RF communications, data links, etc.)
- Familiarity with command and control (C2) systems and integration patterns
- Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills across the full stack — software, interfaces, and system-level interactions
- Experience working in fast-paced, field-based environments where adaptability and composure under pressure are essential
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical defense customers
- Proficiency in one or more relevant languages/frameworks (Python, C++, ROS/ROS2, etc.)
- Comfortable operating in austere or field environments for extended periods
- Active security clearance (Secret or higher) or ability to obtain one
- Background in defense programs, DoD acquisition, or working directly with military end users
- Experience with DevSecOps principles and secure software delivery pipelines
- Familiarity with ATAK, MAVC, or other tactical software platforms
- Experience with simulation environments (Gazebo, AirSim, etc.) for pre-deployment testing
- Contributions to open-source robotics or autonomy projects, ROS2, or MAVLink
- Familiarity with STANAG, JAUS, or other relevant defense interoperability standards
Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience. Compensation ranges are established using national benchmarking data and apply across all geographic locations within the United States.
Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.
What We DoWe create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.
Who We ServeDefense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.
What We Work On- Kubernetes
- Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
- Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)
- Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
- GitOps
- Containers
- CNCF projects and open source products and packages
- Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping
- Building and improving security delivery
- Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications
- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Premiums are 100% Company Paid
- Health Savings Account
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- 401k Retirement Plan
- Company Stock Options
- Home Office Budget
- We offer all full-time Unicorns Flexible Time Off (FTO) plus all Federal Holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s
- Paid Parental Leave
- Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
- Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)
Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed.
At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
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