> 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.

# Principal Forward Deployed Engineer

Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/509559a2545bb60e

SpruceID posts a principal FDE role to build what the customer runs in US, at $200,000–$225,000 base, below the staff+ FDE median of $225,000 across 388 postings with pay. Principal-level forward deployed engineer leading technical strategy and delivery for state government digital identity deployments. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026.

- [SpruceID](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/spruceid)

Posted Nov 18, 2025 by SpruceID · open on Ashby as of Nov 8, 2026

**$200,000–$225,000** + equity US Remote Full-time

Principal-level forward deployed engineer leading technical strategy and delivery for state government digital identity deployments.

- [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F509559a2545bb60e&placement=top)
- [View posting at SpruceID](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/spruceid/ef6a9686-0985-431d-81e7-1445e0622a26/application)

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

$200K–$225K Below the median

Midpoint $213K · median $225K

This job $200K to $225K. Staff+ FDE postings, 388 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $197K to $262K, median $225K.

### The work

Builds what the customer runs

Balance **Mixed**

Project stages

1. Pre-sales (not covered)
2. Proof of concept
3. Implementation
4. Operations

Travel **Required, amount not stated**

- **Coding**: Writes production code

- **Builds for**: External customers

- **Level**: Staff+

- **Role**: Technical lead

### What they ask for

Experience

- **8+ years** designing, building, and delivering production-grade software in statically typed languages (Rust, Go, Java, C#)

Background

- **Software engineering**

### Do you meet what the posting states?

The posting asks for 8+ years. How many do you have?

The posting reads as a staff-level role. What level are you at now?

The work is remote from the US. Can you work from the US?

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**: US

- **Work arrangement**: Remote

- **Remote work restrictions**: within the US

- **Employment type**: Full-time

- **Travel**: Travel required, amount not stated

- **Pay**:

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- [Other jobs at SpruceID (5)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/spruceid)

## The job description from SpruceID

Posted by SpruceID on Nov 18, 2025

SpruceID builds **privacy-preserving, standards-based digital identity and credentialing solutions** that give individuals control of their information while enabling governments and enterprises to deliver secure, interoperable services. We partner with public-sector organizations to modernize how identity is issued, verified, and used.

As a **Principal Forward Deployed Engineer**, you will operate at the intersection of **technical leadership and strategic delivery**. You will lead high-impact engagements with state governments and public sector partners, guiding both the **architecture and the adoption strategy** for digital identity solutions. You’ll work closely with engineering teams, delivery managers, and executives, both within SpruceID and on the customer side, to ensure that deployments not only succeed technically, but also achieve lasting policy and operational outcomes.

This role is hands-on and customer-facing. You’ll write and review code, architect systems, and set engineering best practices, while also shaping roadmaps, influencing standards, and representing SpruceID in strategic conversations.

This job is fully remote within the US.

### What You'll Do

- Define technical strategy and architecture for public sector deployments, ensuring both technical excellence and alignment with policy and operational needs
- Act as the senior technical representative in executive-level customer meetings, bridging the gap between technical details and business or policy outcomes
- Lead multiple end-to-end multi-year projects from rapid prototyping to development to operations and maintenance
- Architect and build backend systems, full-stack web applications, and mobile solutions with a focus on security, privacy, and accessibility
- Translate government requirements into robust, standards-based solutions that integrate with both modern and legacy systems
- Mentor and guide forward deployed engineers and delivery teams, setting standards for high-quality engineering and customer collaboration
- Identify and drive efficiencies across projects, ensuring knowledge and tooling are shared across teams
- Collaborate with platform teams to feed customer insights into SpruceID’s roadmap and contributions to global identity standards

### Qualifications

- 8+ years of experience designing, building, and delivering production-grade software in statically typed languages (Rust, Go, Java, C#)
- Proven ability to lead large-scale engineering efforts that span multiple teams and organizations
- Strong expertise across the software development stack, including infrastructure, devops, architecture, frontend, and mobile
- Demonstrated experience working with public sector or highly regulated industries, including direct customer engagement at both executive and technical levels
- Excellent leadership, communication, and consulting skills with the ability to influence strategy as well as execution
- Based in the US and willing to travel as needed to support state government partners

### Bonus Qualifications

- Experience leading digital transformation or modernization efforts in the public sector
- Familiarity with procurement, compliance, and governance considerations in state government projects
- Deep knowledge of digital identity, computer security, cryptography, and user data privacy practices
- Experience as a Field CTO or similar

At SpruceID, we value diversity of perspectives and backgrounds. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or veteran status.

[View posting at SpruceID](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/spruceid/ef6a9686-0985-431d-81e7-1445e0622a26/application)

## About SpruceID

SpruceID builds government identity infrastructure, digital services, and privacy-preserving trust tools.

Series A

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- [Compare staff+ FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/staff)
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