Lead Forward Deployed Engineering - Data Science & Integration
Salesforce · Virginia - Herndon ·
- Seniority
- Lead
- Category
- Data science
- Experience
- 8+ years
Salesforce · Virginia - Herndon ·
To get the best candidate experience, please consider applying for a maximum of 3 roles within 12 months to ensure you are not duplicating efforts.
Job Category
Software EngineeringJob Details
About Salesforce
Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.
Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You’re in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.
*Must be a U.S. citizen (U.S. born or naturalized) living on U.S. soil who does not hold dual citizenship with the ability to meet customer and government screening standards applicable to this role.**
**Candidates interested in the Hawaii location must be based in Oahu or DC, Northern VA, WMATA.**
**PLEASE NOTE: Qualification for this job is contingent upon acceptable results from a background investigation as well as your having and maintaining the specific level of U.S. government background investigation and clearance required for this role.**
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About the Role
We believe technology should serve the greater good—powering mission outcomes, stewarding taxpayer resources, and enabling innovation at speed and scale. We are seeking a highly accomplished and senior-level Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our elite Public Sector team. This is a unique and high-impact position, blending the roles of a hands-on data scientist, integration architect, and strategic partner embedded directly with customers.
In this role, you will be the primary driver for bringing cutting-edge data science pipelines, intelligent automation, and enterprise integration solutions to life for mission-critical work across the U.S. Department of Defense, Intelligence Community (IC), and Aerospace & Allied Nations.
This role demands a seasoned technologist who thrives working forward-deployed at customer sites, building bespoke solutions leveraging enterprise workflow orchestration platforms such as Regrello and API-led connectivity platforms such as MuleSoft, while also designing and delivering advanced AI/ML systems. Candidates with equivalent experience in comparable platforms are strongly encouraged to apply; direct experience with these specific tools is a plus. You will work directly with mission owners and internal teams—from initial concept through deployment and ongoing optimization—to solve the most complex data and integration challenges in national security environments.
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Mission Impact
- Deploy Cutting-Edge Data Science & Integration Innovation—from API-led integration ecosystems to orchestrated operational workflows to advanced ML pipelines—directly at customer sites in defense, intelligence, and aerospace environments, accelerating mission transformation. Experience with platforms such as MuleSoft and Regrello, or comparable tools, is leveraged to deliver these outcomes.
-Become a Trusted Partner Embedded with Mission Owners, working in classified and unclassified environments to deeply understand operational challenges and translate them into end-to-end data science and integration solutions using best-fit tooling.
- Drive Innovation at the Front Lines by serving as the connective bridge between customer missions and internal engineering teams, gathering frontline feedback to help co-design integration patterns, workflow templates, and data science capabilities that strengthen national security outcomes.
- Improve Efficiency, Mission-Readiness, and Trust by helping the U.S. and allied governments deploy integrated data technology stacks that deliver faster response times, better personnel utilization, and more effective logistics and asset management.
- Drive Tangible Outcomes through Hands-On Implementation, taking responsibility for end-to-end technical delivery of complex data pipelines, integration flows, and predictive models—personally writing critical code, configuring systems, and troubleshooting issues in the field while guiding junior team members.
- Build Transformative Data Science Solutions by taking primary ownership of designing, developing, and implementing high-quality, scalable production ML and analytics systems, including predictive models, intelligent automation pipelines, and LLM-augmented workflows.
-Engineer Bespoke Integration Architectures, designing and building custom API-led integrations using enterprise integration platforms—such as MuleSoft Anypoint Platform or equivalent middleware solutions—to ensure seamless connectivity across enterprise data sources, operational systems, and cloud environments in highly regulated settings. Demonstrated experience with comparable iPaaS or API management platforms (e.g., Dell Boomi, Azure API Management, Apigee, AWS API Gateway) is strongly considered; direct MuleSoft experience is a plus.
- Orchestrate Complex Workflows, leveraging modern workflow automation and process orchestration platforms—such as Regrello or equivalent solutions—to model, automate, and optimize multi-stakeholder operational processes in manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, and mission operations contexts. Candidates with hands-on experience in comparable platforms (e.g., Temporal, Prefect, Apache Airflow, ServiceNow) are strongly encouraged to apply; direct Regrello experience is a plus.
- Own the Entire Data Lifecycle- on-site with customers—from strategic data modeling to hands-on ETL/ELT pipeline construction, feature engineering, and integration strategy—ensuring data is always ready, optimized, and secure for advanced analytics and AI applications.
- Lead Rapid Prototyping and Iteration, developing proofs-of-concept and MVPs side-by-side with customer teams to demonstrate data science and integration capabilities and set the pace for rapid, mission-aligned delivery.
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Mission Responsibilities
- Serve as the forward-deployed technical lead on high-profile customer engagements—designing, building, and deploying tailored data science and integration solutions for defense, intelligence, and aerospace missions on-site.
- Architect and implement enterprise integration solutions—using platforms such as MuleSoft Anypoint Platform or equivalent iPaaS tooling—including API design, development, and management across REST, SOAP, and event-driven integration patterns within secure customer environments.
- Design and deploy workflow automation solutions—leveraging platforms such as Regrello or equivalent orchestration tooling—to model complex operational processes, coordinate cross-functional teams, and surface data-driven insights at key mission decision points.
- Lead integration of AI/ML models, custom data pipelines, and automation flows that enable predictive maintenance, personnel planning, and mission-critical logistics decisions.
- Work with customer IT and security teams to accelerate Authority to Operate (ATO) and production go-lives per DoD IL5/IL6 and applicable regulatory frameworks.
- Partner with internal product and engineering teams to co-develop integration patterns and data science capabilities informed by frontline customer feedback.
- Enable customers to adopt modern data platforms and integration middleware for field operations, asset visibility, command center analytics, and secure operational workflows.
- Mentor junior FDEs and share lessons learned with the broader engineering community to shape playbooks, integration templates, and reusable data science assets for government innovation.
- Translate mission priorities into actionable data and integration roadmaps aligned with agency strategy, presenting findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
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What We're Looking For
We're looking for a builder, a problem solver, and a mission-first leader who thrives in forward-deployed environments. The ideal candidate brings:
- 8+ years of experience in a hands-on, end-to-end delivery role for high-quality, scalable production solutions, ideally in customer-facing or field-deployed settings.
- Strong background in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related engineering discipline.
- Expert-level proficiency in one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, Java, SQL).
- Extensive hands-on experience building and deploying AI/ML solutions, including model development, MLOps pipelines, LLM integration, prompt engineering, and agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex).
- Demonstrated expertise in enterprise integration platforms and API-led connectivity design, with experience in tools such as MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, Dell Boomi, Apigee, Azure API Management, or equivalent; direct MuleSoft experience is a plus.
- Demonstrated expertise in workflow orchestration and process automation platforms, with experience in tools such as Regrello, Temporal, Prefect, Apache Airflow, or equivalent; direct Regrello experience is a plus.
- Deep expertise in data modeling, processing, and analytics with demonstrable proficiency in enterprise data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift).
- A "get-things-done" attitude with a proven ability to deliver fast and impactfully in ambiguous, customer-site environments.
- Exceptional communication and presentation skills—able to articulate complex data science and integration concepts to both technical and non-technical mission stakeholders.
- Proven ability to lead technical engagements, mentor junior FDEs, and own technical delivery end-to-end.
- **Ability to travel 50-75% of the time to customer sites, including classified facilities.**
- **Must be a U.S. citizen (U.S. born or naturalized) living on U.S. soil who does not hold dual citizenship.**
- **Eligible for and willing to obtain a U.S. Security Clearance.**
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Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience in a forward-deployed, field engineer, or embedded technical advisor role with direct customer engagement.
- Experience supporting U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community (IC), or Federal Civilian agencies.
- Background in defense, aerospace, or military logistics operations.
- Familiarity with IL5/IL6/CNSS #1253 requirements or deployment to classified environments.
- Direct hands-on experience with MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, including advanced DataWeave and Runtime Fabric deployments.
- Direct hands-on experience with Regrello for operational workflow orchestration in manufacturing, supply chain, or logistics domains.
- Expert-level Python and/or Java proficiency in a professional data science or integration engineering setting.
- Experience developing and deploying LLM-augmented solutions within highly regulated or classified industries.
- Relevant platform certifications such as:
- MuleSoft Certified Developer / Architect
- Databricks Certified Associate/Professional
- AWS/GCP/Azure Data or ML Engineer certifications
- Data Science and Analysis Certifications or relevant experience
- Experience with event-driven architectures, messaging systems (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ), and streaming data pipelines.
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and DevSecOps practices in regulated environments.
Unleash Your Potential
When you join Salesforce, you’ll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance and be your best, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you can do your best. Together, we’ll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love. Apply today to not only shape the future — but to redefine what’s possible — for yourself, for AI, and the world.
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In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions.

The typical base salary range for this position is $172,500 - $260,100 annually. 

The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.