Forward Deployed Engineer

📋 Description

• • Own the end-to-end integration of NODA’s multi-domain autonomous orchestration platform with customer and partner systems, serving as the critical bridge between cutting-edge autonomy software and real-world operational environments.
• • Design and build robust adapters and translation layers that enable seamless communication between our orchestration engine and diverse autonomous vehicle control protocols (MAVLink, ROS/ROS2, proprietary APIs) across air, sea, land, and space domains.
• • Develop high-performance interfaces for integrating sensor data streams (cameras, LIDAR, radar, EO/IR, RF) into our unified world model, ensuring real-time situational awareness for autonomous swarms operating in contested or degraded network conditions.
• • Create secure, resilient network configurations that maintain connectivity across VPNs, firewalls, and intermittent RF links, enabling reliable command-and-control in austere environments ranging from desert test ranges to maritime operations centers.
• • Lead on-site technical deployments at partner facilities, vehicle OEMs, and DoD test sites—translating abstract orchestration tasks into platform-specific behaviors while validating system performance under mission-critical conditions.
• • Serve as the primary technical liaison between customers, partners, and NODA’s core engineering teams, channeling field insights into actionable product requirements that shape our roadmap for autonomous system interoperability.
• • Build reusable integration components and shared libraries that accelerate future deployments, reducing integration time from weeks to days through standardized patterns for vehicle APIs, sensor drivers, and C2 system connectors.
• • Execute live demonstrations and training sessions for defense operators, intelligence analysts, and commercial partners—showcasing how heterogeneous unmanned systems can collaborate autonomously to achieve complex objectives.
• • Troubleshoot and optimize system performance in real-time during field operations, analyzing telemetry data to identify bottlenecks in data pipelines, network latency, or vehicle-specific behavior implementations.
• • Contribute directly to our core platform by extending our behavior library with new capabilities derived from platform-specific features, while maintaining backward compatibility across diverse vehicle fleets.
• • Develop deployment automation tooling that enables rapid software delivery in secure, classified environments—streamlining installation, configuration, and validation processes for air-gapped networks and STIG-compliant systems.
• • Document integration patterns, troubleshooting guides, and deployment playbooks that empower customers and internal teams to replicate successful integrations across new operational theaters.
• • Validate third-party integrations through rigorous testing protocols, ensuring compatibility with tactical communications systems (ATAK, TAK Server, Link 16) and adherence to cybersecurity requirements.
• • Provide crisis management support during critical demonstrations, maintaining composure while resolving integration failures under pressure from senior military stakeholders or commercial executives.
• • Transition seamlessly between strategic platform development and tactical field support, adapting to rapidly changing requirements while maintaining focus on mission success and customer satisfaction.