> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt. # Senior/Principal Lead Delivery Engineer — Defense Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/44f0de2ca4442dd8 Luminary posts a FDE role to build what the customer runs in San Mateo, CA with no pay posted. Leads delivery and customer outcomes for defense and government engagements, from discovery and contracting through model deployment and integration into program workflows. Read from the employer’s posting on November 6, 2026. - [Luminary](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/luminary) First seen Oct 24, 2026 · open on Rippling as of Nov 6, 2026 Pay not posted San Mateo, CA On-site Full-time Leads delivery and customer outcomes for defense and government engagements, from discovery and contracting through model deployment and integration into program workflows. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F44f0de2ca4442dd8&placement=top) - [View posting at Luminary](https://ats.rippling.com/luminarycloud/jobs/24de6a57-4e00-418b-b330-1355fd53c80a) Free. Upload your resume once, see why each FDE role fits, and get introduced only when you say so. ## At a glance ### Posted base pay Not posted Senior FDE postings, 1,849 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### The work Builds what the customer runs Balance **Mixed** Project stages 1. Pre-sales 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations (not covered) Travel **Up to 25%** - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Technical lead ### What they ask for Experience - **5+ years** technical role in defense, government R&D, prime contractor engineering, or defense-adjacent enterprise software - **10+ years** technical role in defense, government R&D, prime contractor engineering, or defense-adjacent enterprise software Background - **Software engineering** - **Implementation and data engineering** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 5+ years. How many do you have? The posting reads as a senior role. What level are you at now? The job is in San Mateo, CA. Could you work there? Which of these have you used in production? Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent. [What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths) ## Conditions - **Location**: San Mateo, CA - **Work arrangement**: On-site - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Travel**: Up to 25% ## More like this [Autoscience Institute](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/autoscience-institute) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/a9012b69fa44776f) Menlo Park, CA On-site 3w ago Pay not posted [Campfire](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/campfire) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f935f5733b809a63) San Francisco, CA On-site 5w ago $180,000–$220,000 [Nominal](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/nominal) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer, AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/dec8d400dcdba3a8) New York, NY · San Francisco, CA · +3 more 4w ago Pay not posted - [Other jobs at Luminary (6)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/luminary) ## The job description from Luminary **Note: **In accordance with export control regulations, this position requires candidates to qualify as a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3)). An active or obtainable U.S. security clearance (Secret or TS/SCI) is preferred. ### JOIN THE REVOLUTION IN ENGINEERING INNOVATION Luminary helps engineering companies be more competitive by getting to market faster, creating better products, and reducing development risk. We do this through our Physics AI platform — the fastest and easiest way to build and deploy models that understand and instantly predict physical reality with precision. Our customers span industries from automotive and aerospace to defense, industrial, semiconductors, and energy — ranging from hyper-growth startups to Fortune 100 enterprises. Luminary is a Series B company headquartered in San Mateo, California. ### YOUR IMPACT As the Senior/Principal Lead Delivery Engineer for Defense, you own customer outcomes for Luminary's defense and government engagements — prime contractors, DoD agencies, defense innovation organizations, and national labs. You are a dual hat — project manager and product manager — leading a matrixed value delivery team across Applications Engineering, Applied AI/ML, Data & Platform, and product engineering. You operate fluently in environments with security, compliance, and ITAR/EAR requirements, and you partner with the GTM team on program engagement and expansion. ### WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own end-to-end customer outcomes across new and existing defense and government accounts — prime contractors, DoD agencies (DARPA, AFRL, NRL, Navy), and national labs — from discovery through model deployment and embedding into program workflows. - Author SOWs and RFP/RFI responses that navigate government contracting items — milestones, deliverables, IP, and export control — and own delivery accountability against them. - Lead a value delivery team in a matrix structure: Applications Engineers, Applied AI/ML Scientists, Data and Platform Engineers, and selected product engineers. Set technical direction, sequence the work, remove blockers. - Operate as a dual hat — project manager and product manager — running execution while shaping the product intuition for what to build next. - Stay hands-on-keyboard where it matters. Debug a model, restructure a data pipeline, prototype a workflow integration. - Embrace co-engineering: work side-by-side with customer engineers on use case development, including at customer sites where required. - Partner with the GTM team on new program engagement and account growth. - Navigate compliance: ITAR/EAR, CMMC, DFARS, and FedRAMP awareness in delivery planning and customer dialogue. - Bring market and customer signal back to Product and Research, shaping Luminary's roadmap for defense-specific requirements including security, compliance, and certification. ### WHAT YOU BRING - 5–10 years of experience in a technical role in defense, government R&D, prime contractor engineering, or defense-adjacent enterprise software. Principal-level candidates have an extensive track record in defense. - Multi-physics fluency across defense engineering disciplines: structural mechanics, aeroelasticity, thermal-structural analysis, propulsion, signal integrity, electromagnetics, or multi-physics simulation. - U.S. Person required; active or obtainable Secret/TS-SCI clearance preferred. - Familiarity with government contracting, ITAR/EAR, and defense acquisition frameworks. - Strong hands-on engineering chops — Python, scripting, simulation tools, and AI/ML workflows. - Working knowledge of AI/ML applied to engineering — surrogate modeling, neural operators, physics-informed ML, structural digital twins. - Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional technical teams without direct authority. - Product instinct and customer-facing presence; comfortable with chief engineers, program managers, and government technical leadership. - Self-starter, persistent through iteration, willing to travel 10–25% to customer sites. ### PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline. - Prior experience at prime contractors (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Defense, Raytheon/RTX, General Dynamics, L3Harris) or defense labs (DARPA, AFRL, NRL, Sandia, Los Alamos). - Active security clearance. - Experience with digital twin programs for airframe, propulsion, or fleet health management applications. - Track record of deploying ML or simulation tooling into program environments under compliance constraints. [View posting at Luminary](https://ats.rippling.com/luminarycloud/jobs/24de6a57-4e00-418b-b330-1355fd53c80a) ## About Luminary Luminary provides a full-stack Physics AI platform that connects engineering data, model development, validation, and production deployment. Series B ## Similar jobs [Periodic Labs](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/periodic-labs) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer, Physics & Simulation](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f51097ef995e7154) Menlo Park, CA On-site 5mo ago $250,000–$350,000 [West Monroe](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/west-monroe) ### [Senior Applied AI Engineer/Architect](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/8a4b60dcc900fac7) Boston, MA · Chicago, IL · +7 more 4mo ago $225,000–$304,200 [Fastino Labs](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/fastino-labs) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/da8fc44ab966dc80) San Francisco, CA Hybrid 2w ago Pay not posted [Databricks](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/databricks) ### [Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Digital Native Business ](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/d7d1858268bd328d) San Francisco, CA 7w ago $182,000–$250,208 [OpenAI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/openai) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Cyber - SF](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/5a5eb13cea3121c0) San Francisco, CA Hybrid New · 2d ago $185,000–$300,000 - [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior) - [Similar jobs in SF Bay Area](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?region=sf-bay-area) - [Similar jobs that build what the customer runs](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=builds-for-customers) Hiring at Luminary and want this page changed or removed? 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