Forward Deployed Software Engineer - US Government - Federal Health and Civilian

Palantir

New York, US

On-site

Who this role is best for

Best suited to mid-level engineers who thrive in ambiguous problem-solving environments and have experience with full-stack execution in federal health or civilian sectors.

Best fit for

Engineers who enjoy owning high-stakes projects end-to-end like a startup CTO.
— “own end-to-end execution of high-stakes projects within small, high-ownership teams”
Candidates comfortable with rapid context-switching across technical and strategic work.
— “whiteboarding architecture with engineers, building data pipelines and operational workflows, deploying AI agents, advising customer executives, and driving strategy with your team - sometimes all in the same day”
Those seeking to develop both engineering leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
— “Whether you want to be an entrepreneur or an engineering leader”

Things to consider

Projects involve solving open-ended problems with significant real-world impact.
— “Projects often start with an open-ended question”
Work requires direct collaboration with federal health and civilian agencies.
— “work directly with customers to rapidly understand their hardest problems”

How to stand out

Demonstrate experience translating ambiguous questions into concrete technical solutions.
— “Your job is to show up and solve them”
Highlight past work where you influenced both technical and executive stakeholders.
— “advising customer executives, and driving strategy with your team”
Show examples of rapid prototyping across the full technology stack.
— “spanning the full stack of execution”

Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · IndustryLevel · Mid Level

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

High-Stakes Project Execution
Customer Problem Solving
Data Pipeline Development

Typical background

Software EngineeringCustomer-Facing Technical Roles

Skills & requirements

Required

Forward Deployed EngineeringCustomer CollaborationData-driven DecisionsAI Integration

Preferred

Healthcare SolutionsCivilian Agency ProjectsStrategic Planning

Stack & domain

Data-driven DecisionsOperationsData PipelinesAi AgentsWhiteboarding ArchitectureProblem-solvingCommunicationFederal HealthCivilian AgenciesPublic HealthSupply ChainAviation Safety

About the role

Original posting from Palantir via Lever

A World-Changing Company
Palantir builds the world’s leading software for data-driven decisions and operations. By bringing the right data to the people who need it, our platforms empower our partners to develop lifesaving drugs, forecast supply chain disruptions, locate missing children, and more.
The Role
Palantir powers mission-critical work across federal health and civilian agencies - from improving patient care and accelerating public health responses, to helping farmers access services, modernizing tax record reviews, and improving aviation safety.
Forward Deployed Software Engineers (FDSEs) work directly with customers to rapidly understand their hardest problems and build solutions against them. Projects often start with an open-ended question: "How do we respond to a foodborne illness outbreak faster?" or "Where is our medical supply chain failing patients?" Your job is to show up and solve them.
In Federal Health/Civil, your responsibilities look like those of a startup CTO. You'll own end-to-end execution of high-stakes projects within small, high-ownership teams, spanning the full stack of execution: whiteboarding architecture with engineers, building data pipelines and operational workflows, deploying AI agents, advising customer executives, and driving strategy with your team - sometimes all in the same day.
Whether you want to be an entrepreneur or an engineering leader, Palantir is built to get you there. You'll learn to unpack ambiguous problems and reason carefully about the cost and consequence of solutions. You'll work autonomously, make consequential decisions, and build with some of the country's most important institutions - with colleagues who will support and challenge you along the way.

Source: Palantir careers (Lever)