Senior/Lead Forward Deployed Engineer, Public Sector

Salesforce

Confirmed live today High trust

Hybrid

Quick summary

Work type: Hybrid
Location: Herndon, VAHawaii
Salary: $148,500–$365,200 / yr
Employment: Full-time
Posted: 46 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live today
Closes: Nov 13, 2026
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $190k

This role $257k

$122k $391k

below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 90% of similar roles. Most pay $150,000–$229,106 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $257k versus about $190k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the world''s leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform, offering cloud-based software for sales, service, marketing, analytics, and application development. Industry: Enterprise Software & Cloud Computing

Salesforce currently has 221 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $148,500–$260,100 across 125 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Senior/Lead Forward Deployed Engineer, Public Sector

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The Missionforce - Senior/Lead Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) joins the Public Sector team to design and deploy bespoke AI solutions for U.S. Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and Aerospace clients. This role involves architecting a planet-scale platform, engineering distributed systems across AWS, GCP, Azure, or Alibaba Cloud, and building Infrastructure-as-Code using Terraform. You will develop microservices with Kubernetes and Docker, manage data pipelines, and integrate AI agents into human workflows. Key technical requirements include proficiency in Java, GoLang, Python, or Ruby, along with experience in enterprise data platforms like Snowflake, Databricks, or BigQuery. You will operate in air-gapped GovCloud environments, utilizing AI tools like GitHub Copilot and Cursor to build secure, production-grade software that solves complex mission-critical problems for federal and defense stakeholders.

Skills

Java GoLang Python Ruby AWS GCP Azure Alibaba Cloud Terraform Kubernetes Docker Salesforce Apex LWC Data Cloud Snowflake Databricks BigQuery Prompt Engineering

What you'll do

Serve as the technical lead for high-profile customer engagements with defense, intelligence, and aerospace clients.
Design, build, and deploy bespoke AI solutions and tailored Salesforce solutions for mission-critical outcomes.
Engineer distributed systems running across thousands of compute nodes on AWS, GCP, Azure, or Alibaba Cloud.
Develop Infrastructure-as-Code, microservices using Kubernetes and Docker, and complex data pipelines.
Build and ship production-grade software using modern engineering practices and AI-driven development workflows.
Design and orchestrate systems where AI agents integrate seamlessly into human workflows at scale.
Maintain a shared system context repository of designs, constraints, and standards to ensure reliable AI operation.
Critically evaluate human and AI-generated code for correctness, security, and performance.

What we're looking for

Must be a U.S. citizen (U.S. born or naturalized) who does not hold dual citizenship.
Must be able to meet customer and government screening standards and complete a U.S. federal government Minimum Background Investigation.
Must hold an active Secret or Top Secret clearance.
Must have 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience.
Must have deep proficiency in Java, GoLang, Python, or Ruby.
Must have experience working in an air-gapped GovCloud environment.
Must have advanced prompt engineering skills and experience using AI tools in development workflows.
Must be able to travel 25–50% of the time to customer sites.
Background in defense/aerospace, classified environments (IL5/IL6), or federal civilian agencies (preferred).
Prior experience in a customer-facing technical lead or architect role (preferred).
Salesforce platform experience including Agentforce, Data Cloud, Flows, LWC, and Apex (preferred).
Familiarity with IL5/IL6/CNSS #1253 requirements or deployment to classified environments (preferred).

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