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Forward Deployed Engineer, Gov (DC)

Washington, DC

About Sayari: 

Sayari is a risk intelligence provider that equips the public and private sectors with immediate visibility into complex commercial relationships by delivering the largest commercially available collection of corporate and trade data from over 250 jurisdictions worldwide. Sayari's solutions enable risk resilience, mission-critical investigations, and better economic decisions. 

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., its solutions are trusted by Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and government agencies, and are used globally by thousands of users in over 35 countries. Funded by world-class investors, with a strategic $228 million investment by TPG Inc. (NASDAQ: TPG) in 2024, Sayari has been recognized by the Inc. 5000 and the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 as one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States and was featured as one of Inc.’s “Best Workplaces” for 2025.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

This is not a traditional sales engineering role. As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you are at the critical intersection of our code, our clients, and their most critical missions. You will be deployed to our most strategic partners, embedding within their environments to solve high-stakes problems that have no textbook answers.

You own the "last mile" of our product's impact , ensuring our technology fundamentally transforms how our users confront challenges such as financial crime, supply chain disruption, and threats to national security.

You are equal parts engineer, strategist, and operator. One day you might be architecting a data pipeline within a client's cloud environment ; the next, you'll be writing production Python to integrate our API into a proprietary analytics platform ; and by the end of the week, you could be briefing a C-level executive, intelligence analyst, or mission director on the outcomes your work has enabled.

You thrive on ambiguity, operate with extreme ownership, and are relentless in your pursuit of delivering real-world value. You will act as a vital conduit between the front lines and our core engineering teams, turning your bespoke solutions into scalable, platform-wide features of Sayari’s product suite.

 

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Embed and Build: Deploy directly into our clients' technical ecosystems and work with key stakeholders to understand their unique workflows, technical environments, and mission challenges. Design, build, and ship production-grade code. You will write robust Python applications, advanced SQL, and leverage our APIs to solve bespoke challenges at the edge.
  • Own the Outcome: Lead the entire technical lifecycle of our most strategic deployments, from initial discovery and architectural design to implementation and operationalization. You are responsible for ensuring our platform delivers tangible, mission-critical value.
  • Be the Tip of the Spear: Serve as the primary technical authority for our clients. You'll lead deep-dive technical workshops, debug complex systems, and act as a trusted, hands-on advisor on how to best leverage Sayari's platform to achieve their objectives in real-world investigations and missions.
  • Engineer Solutions for the Mission: Deconstruct ambiguous, high-level mission requirements into concrete technical solutions. Architect and implement scalable data models and workflows, ranging from building robust data pipelines into client persistence layers (Snowflake, Databricks, etc.) to developing custom Python scripts and prototyping AI/ML models.
  • Shape Our Product: Act as the vital conduit between the front lines and our core engineering teams. You will translate complex, real-world operational needs and feedback into the next generation of Sayari's platform.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Required Skills & Experiences:

  • 5+ years of experience in a client-facing, technical role (Forward Deployed Engineer, Sales Engineering, Solutions Architecture, Technical Consulting, etc.).
  • Demonstrated ability to write clean, production-ready code, with strong proficiency in programming languages (preferably Python) and its data manipulation ecosystem (Pandas, etc.).
  • Deep fluency in writing and optimizing complex SQL queries.
  • Hands-on, practical experience consuming, integrating, and reasoning about RESTful APIs.
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to bridge the gap between code and mission. You can articulate highly technical concepts with clarity and conviction to engineers, analysts, and senior leaders alike.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to navigate ambiguous, complex scenarios.
  • A relentless drive and intellectual curiosity. You are comfortable parachuting into new environments and learning new technologies on the fly.
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in a technical field strongly preferred
  • Focus on government missions (Intelligence Community, Defense, Law Enforcement, Regulatory).
  • Must be a U.S. citizen and be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
  • Ability to work at the client site 25-75% of the time.

Desired Skills & Experiences:

  • Practical experience leveraging AI, including prompting Large Language Models (LLMs) or using their APIs to build analytical solutions.
  • Experience building and deploying solutions on cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and familiarity with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
  • Familiarity with the modern data stack (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks) and workflow orchestrators (e.g., Airflow, Prefect).
  • Knowledge of graph data technologies (Neo4j, TigerGraph) and their corresponding query languages.
  • Exposure to machine learning applications, particularly in NLP or entity resolution.
  • Experience in, or a demonstrated passion for, high-stakes domains such as AML/Financial Crime, Supply Chain Risk, or National Security.
  • Ability to travel up to 50%

 

The target base salary for this position is $165,000-$180,000 plus company bonus and equity. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including location, local market variances, candidate experience and expertise, internal peer equity, and may vary from the amounts listed above.

 

Benefits: 

  • 100% fully paid medical, vision, and dental for employees and their dependents
  • Generous time off; we observe all US federal holidays, close our office for a winter break (12/24-12/31), in addition to granting 18 PTO days and 10 sick days
  • Outstanding compensation package; competitive commissions for revenue roles and quarterly bonuses for non-revenue positions
  • A strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Eligibility to participate in additional benefits such as 401k match up to 5%, 100% paid life insurance (up to $100,000 coverage),, and parental leave
  • A collaborative and positive culture - your team will be as smart and driven as you
  • Limitless growth and learning opportunities
 
Sayari is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages diverse candidates to apply. We believe diversity and inclusion mean our team members should reflect the diversity of the United States. No employee or applicant will face discrimination or harassment based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability status, veteran status, genetics, or political affiliation. We strongly encourage applicants of all backgrounds to apply.

Pay Range

$165,000 - $180,000 USD

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