SkillBridge Fellow: Forward-Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Location: Kansas City Area / Remote (Hybrid), USA

Employment Type: Internship

IMPORTANT: This position is exclusively open to transitioning active-duty U.S. Military Service Members eligible for the Department of Defense (DoD) SkillBridge program. Applicants must obtain command approval prior to the start of the fellowship.

Role Mission

SOFTwarfare® is seeking a Forward-Deployed Engineer (FDE) SkillBridge Fellow to work at the critical intersection of engineering fundamentals, mission operations, and customer delivery. In this role, you will help take advanced cybersecurity and cloud capabilities from concept to real-world deployment.

An FDE is an "Engineer-Operator." You will work alongside mission leaders and customers to understand operational problems, design technical solutions, and support deployments that make a measurable impact on national security. This role is ideal for service members who thrive in dynamic, "forward" environments and enjoy solving hard problems alongside end-users.

The Path to Full-Time Employment (FTE)

The primary goal of this fellowship is to evaluate for a potential full-time offer as a Forward-Deployed Engineer or Solutions Architect upon successful completion of the program and military separation. Success is defined by your ability to bridge technical requirements with mission outcomes.

What You Will Do (Responsibilities)

Mission Problem Solving: Work directly with mission stakeholders to translate operational challenges into technical requirements.
Deployment & Integration: Support the configuration and integration of identity-centric solutions across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.
End-to-End Ownership: Contribute to the full delivery lifecycle, including planning, testing, troubleshooting, and operational support.
Technical Collaboration: Partner with product teams to incorporate lessons learned from the field into future software architectures.
Customer Engagement: Participate in technical working sessions and demonstrations to communicate progress and tradeoffs to customer teams.

Preferred Experience & Skills

Active-duty military member within 180 days of separation eligible for SkillBridge.
Background or strong interest in systems engineering, software engineering, cloud infrastructure, or cybersecurity.
Familiarity with Linux environments, networking concepts, or cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP).
Experience with "Operator" mindsets: comfort working with incomplete information and high autonomy.
U.S. Citizenship (Required for U.S. Government contracting).

Location: Hybrid/Remote (with ~25% travel to HQ in Prairie Village, KS).

Travel Note: You will spend approximately one week per month (or 25% of your time) at our HQ. This is especially critical during your first 30–60 days for hands-on technical training and team integration.

Keywords for Military Transition: DoD SkillBridge, Forward-Deployed Engineer, Systems Engineering, Cyber Operations, Cloud Infrastructure, Solutions Architect, Veteran Fellowship, Network Security, Linux, Deployment Engineering.

About SOFTwarfare

SOFTwarfare delivers trusted cybersecurity, identity, and cloud solutions that help organizations meet complex regulatory and mission requirements. We support public-sector, defense, and commercial customers operating in high-risk and highly regulated environments.

Equal Opportunity Statement

SOFTwarfare is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Please be aware that many of our positions require the ability to obtain a security clearance. Security clearances may only be granted to U.S. citizens. In addition, applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment may be subject to government security investigation(s) and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.