Forward Deployed Engineer - US National Security
TRM Labs · Washington, United States · 9d ago
Build a Safer World.
TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure.
As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you will work directly with TRM's national-security customers — deploying our platform into their environments, sitting with the people who use it, and building what the mission actually needs.
This is a generalist engineering role. In a given quarter you might ship application code, debug a Kubernetes workload in a restricted environment, design a data schema, stand up cloud infrastructure, or prototype an entirely new capability because a customer described a problem nobody has solved yet. You will often be the only TRM engineer in the room. What you build enables our government customers to use TRM securely in the most demanding environments in the world — and carries what you learn there back into the product.
The impact you will have:
Deploy, integrate and operate TRM's platform inside customer environments - cloud and air-gapped - and own the outcome, not just your slice of it.
Sit directly with mission users, translate what they need into working software, and build it: integrations, data pipelines, and prototypes that prove out a capability before it's a product.
Deliver across whatever the problem requires — application code, Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, databases, data flow - rather than staying inside one specialty.
Act as the technical bridge back to TRM's product and engineering teams, carrying mission context into the roadmap.
Diagnose and resolve hard problems in constrained environments, with limited tooling and limited outside help.
What we’re looking for:
Strong programming ability in Python and/or Node.js/TypeScript, with real fluency developing with AI — coding agents and LLM tooling are part of how you ship, and you have judgment about where they help and where they don't.
Hands-on Kubernetes: deploying, debugging and reasoning about real workloads. Maintaining someone else's cluster is not the same thing.
Production AWS experience — building environments, not just consuming them.
Working fluency with relational databases (PostgreSQL or similar): schema design, query tuning, moving data around safely.
Range. Concrete examples of delivering outside your primary specialty — a new language, datastore or platform you picked up because the project needed it.
Outstanding written and verbal communication. You will be the only engineer in front of a customer regularly, and comfort there is not optional.
Bonus, not required — depth in any of these raises the bar
Infrastructure as code (Terraform) and GitOps (Argo CD)
Data engineering at scale — orchestration, streaming, columnar/analytics stores
Distributed systems design and debugging
Building machine learning or agentic systems
Deep Linux/Unix and networking, especially in restricted or disconnected environments
Prior delivery inside classified or otherwise regulated government environments
About the Team:
Small, senior and high-trust. Everyone owns a real surface end to end; nobody is handed a queue of tickets.
We are the closest team at TRM to our customers, and we put them first. We do what it takes for their mission to succeed.
We align to US-eastern hours, on-site and remote, and we communicate across a lot of channels — high-side chat, high-side and low-side email, Slack, phone, Signal, Google Meet — switching between them fast when the situation calls for it.
Weekly team syncs plus project check-ins. We keep tracking current in Linear and raise problems the moment we see them rather than at the next standup.
Learn about TRM Speed in this position:
Rapid issue resolution. FDEs identify and diagnose critical on-site issues, open an incident channel or virtual war room with the remote team, and land fixes in minutes to hours — then run the retro and share the lesson with internal and customer stakeholders within 48 hours.
Navigating bureaucratic hurdles. FDEs anticipate customer-side delays rather than absorbing them: building relationships with customer stakeholders, finding the bottleneck, and finding another path to approval. Weeks of waiting become days.
Efficient knowledge transfer. Documentation stays current in Notion and work stays current in Linear. Anything that threatens a milestone is flagged within 24 hours, so the remote team is never surprised.
Application Instructions
If you’re interested in joining TRM, we encourage you to apply directly. Every application is reviewed by our Talent team.
Before applying, review the job description carefully and highlight the experience and impact that best demonstrate the required qualifications. Please also provide thoughtful and accurate answers to the application questions, as these will be used to evaluate your qualifications for the role.
If you send your resume directly to someone at TRM, we can’t guarantee it will reach the appropriate hiring team. Applying directly is the best way to ensure you’re considered.
What to Expect From Our Interview Process
Our process is designed to understand how you think, solve problems, and deliver impact, while giving you the opportunity to evaluate TRM. Most interview processes include a case study, AI skills assessment, and Leadership Principles interview.
Recruiter Intro: Explore your experience, motivations, and alignment with the role.
Hiring Manager: Dive deeper into your relevant experience, skills, and impact.
First Round: Typically 1–2 interviews focused on the skills most critical to the role.
Final Round: Typically 3–5 interviews to go deeper on your craft, problem-solving, and alignment with TRM.
References: We’ll speak with former colleagues who can provide perspective on your work and impact.
Offer: If it’s a mutual fit, your recruiter will walk you through your offer and answer your questions.
Welcome to TRM: Once you sign, we’ll get you ready for your first day and onboarding.
Your recruiter will share your specific interview plan and preparation guidance along the way.
Learn more about interviewing at TRM
Life at TRM
We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day.
TRM moves quickly. We are a high velocity, high ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days.
Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
At TRM, you should expect:
Priorities and targets to change quickly as we experiment and iterate
Work that often requires operating with a high degree of ambiguity
A high level of personal ownership and accountability
Close collaboration across teams and functions
Frequent, high-touch communication
Creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking
A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes
This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires comfort navigating ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment.
We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.
At the same time, many people find this work deeply rewarding. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute. Learn more about Interviewing at TRM
AI Fluency at TRM
AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM.
We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks.
At TRM, AI fluency means you are among the top 10 percent of operators in your function in how you apply AI to:
Accelerate repeatable workflows
Structure and solve problems
Improve output quality
Increase speed and leverage
You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.
Leadership Principles
We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.
Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.
Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end‑to‑end, and invest in getting better everyday.
Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one‑team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.
Join our Mission
At TRM, we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast.
TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore. Learn more about building tools for defenders.
Privacy Policy and Additional Information
By submitting your application, you agree to allow TRM Labs to process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
We collect the information you provide (such as your resume, work history, and contact details) solely for the purpose of evaluating your candidacy for current and future roles at TRM.
Because our hiring cycles for certain positions may span 24 to 36 months, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months from the date of your application. After that period, your data is deleted unless a different retention period is required or permitted by law.
If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with applicable data protection laws, you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data at any time before that period ends. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@trmlabs.com.
To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
The use of AI tools of any kind (including but not limited to notetakers, interview assistants, and real-time coaching tools such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, Cluey, or similar) during TRM interviews is not permitted without prior approval from TRM. TRM uses its own internal tools for note-taking to ensure a consistent and confidential experience for all candidates.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form.
Recruitment agencies
TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.