> 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. # Forward Deployed Engineer - Washington, D.C Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/c3e27f2a204f7780 Realm posts a FDE role to integrate and configure the product, remote, hiring in Washington, DC, at $115,000–$200,000 base, below the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,864 postings with pay. As Realm’s first Forward Deployed Engineer, you’ll own customer-facing technical integrations and deployments, translating operational needs into robust solutions for mission-critical industrial and government environments. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [Realm](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/realm) Posted Aug 5, 2026 by Realm · open on Ashby as of Nov 8, 2026 **$115,000–$200,000** + equity Remote, hiring in Washington, DC Full-time As Realm’s first Forward Deployed Engineer, you’ll own customer-facing technical integrations and deployments, translating operational needs into robust solutions for mission-critical industrial and government environments. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2Fc3e27f2a204f7780&placement=top) - [View posting at Realm](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/realmalliance/445de3e5-d42d-43aa-8595-69afa50fd17b/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 $115K–$200K Below the median Midpoint $158K · median $190K This job $115K to $200K. Senior FDE postings, 1,864 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### The work Integrates and configures it Balance **Mixed** Project stages 1. Pre-sales 2. Proof of concept 3. Implementation 4. Operations Travel **Up to 25%** - **Coding**: Prototypes and scripts - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Technical lead ### What they ask for Experience - **2+ years** software engineering or forward deployed / mission operations experience Background - **Software engineering** - **Forward deployed engineering** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 2+ years. How many do you have? The posting reads as a senior 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**: Washington, DC - **Work arrangement**: Remote - **Remote work restrictions**: US - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Travel**: Up to 25% - **Pay**: ## More like this [Second Front Systems](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/second-front-systems) ### [Senior Forward Deployed Engineer - Implementation Focus](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/8a389d79760f752c) US Remote 4mo ago $160,000–$190,000 [Accenture](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/accenture) ### [Salesforce Forward Deployed Engineer Lead (Agentforce)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/73e5924621161727) New York, NY · Milwaukee, WI · +39 more New · 2d ago $62,800–$218,800 [Amazon (incl AWS)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/amazon-incl-aws) ### [Delivery Consultant- AI/ML, WWPS ProServe Delivery Team](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/bdae58c5e4f95f51) Arlington, VA · Herndon, VA 3mo ago $131,300–$177,600 - [Other jobs at Realm (4)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/realm) ## The job description from Realm Posted by Realm on Aug 5, 2026 ### Company Overview Realm builds AI for the mining industry. We integrate with existing mine infrastructure — cameras, SCADA systems, drones, and data repositories — to predict equipment failures, detect unsafe behaviors, and optimize operations. Our platform deploys intelligence in various ways to improve productivity and safety — monitoring PPE compliance via computer vision, optimizing froth flotation processes, analyzing longwall shearer performance, tracking MSHA citation patterns, and more. Our founders started their careers at Palantir before going on to build Blend Labs (publicly traded fintech, founded as CTO) and Even (acquired by Walmart). Our leadership team brings experience from Uber, Metropolis, and other high-bar organizations. We're a small, senior team that ships daily to production mines. AI isn't just our product — it's how we build. We're an AI-first engineering team that uses the latest models and tooling throughout our development process, moving faster and at higher quality than traditional teams our size. Our culture values high agency, deep ownership, collaboration, and autonomy across a fully remote workforce. Teams here move quickly and make meaningful contributions to a product that shapes global industrial outcomes. ### The Role As our first Forward Deployed Engineer, you will be the technical point of contact for customers in the field—owning integrations, onsite deployment work, and the translation of real-world operational needs into robust, scalable technical solutions. You’ll work hands-on with customer systems, troubleshoot complex environments, and rapidly prototype tools and integrations needed to make Realm successful in mission-critical settings. This role is deeply technical and field-oriented—focused on making the product work seamlessly in demanding industrial and government environments. You’ll embed with users, uncover operational realities, validate technical assumptions, and ensure our technology performs reliably under real-world constraints. This is an ideal role for someone who enjoys building in messy environments, thrives on customer interaction, and takes pride in shipping solutions that matter. ### What You’ll Do - Spend ~25% of your time onsite with customers across the US - Build a ground-truth understanding of customer operations—shadowing operators, analysts, and frontline teams to understand workflows, constraints, and integration requirements - Rapidly prototype tools and integrations in the field (“vibe-coding”) to validate ideas, solve urgent problems, and prove feasibility before handing off to engineering - Troubleshoot and diagnose complex operational or systems issues across varied and sometimes degraded environments - Translate field insights into clear technical requirements and integration specs for the engineering team - Lead all technical integration work, including APIs, data pipelines, hardware/software interfaces, and security/compliance-sensitive deployment setups - Work closely with engineering to ensure features, interfaces, and infrastructure align with real-world operational needs - Represent customer technical realities internally—ensuring feasibility, reliability, and operational constraints are deeply understood - Decompose ambiguous, real-world problems into well-scoped technical workstreams - Ensure customers succeed in mission-critical contexts by enabling smooth deployment, data flow, connectivity, and operational reliability - Inform the product and engineering teams with data, field observations, and frontline feedback—advocating for changes that reflect true customer needs - Play a key role in pre-sales by traveling onsite with prospects to demonstrate and prove out the product's value before a deal closes - Contribute to the foundation, process, and culture that will scale Realm’s forward deployed engineering function ### What We’re Looking For ### Must-Have Qualifications - 2+ years of software engineering or forward deployed / mission operations experience, with a record of shipping impactful work - Strong technical fluency and the ability to work closely with engineers—comfortable reading, writing, and debugging code enough to build prototypes - Low ego, high EQ, and exceptional collaborative instincts—able to build trust inside Realm and with external partners - Experience working directly with enterprise, industrial, government, defense, or security-critical products - Strong coding skills, problem-solving ability, and grasp of computer science fundamentals - Mastery of core development/infrastructure/DevOps tools (Git, Linux) - Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional problem solving, influence technical teams, and drive projects from inception to delivery - Ability to thrive in ambiguous environments—strong prioritization, structured thinking, and comfort balancing long-term vision with immediate needs - Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to simplify complexity for a wide range of stakeholders - Strong data instincts—comfortable analyzing data, forming hypotheses, and making data-informed decisions - Hands-on prototyping and AI-assisted coding skills; comfortable hacking together real solutions quickly to test ideas - Move fast, can tackle ambiguous problems, and sweat the details - Based in US - citizen (preferred) or permanent resident ### Nice-to-Have Qualifications - Experience working on-site with customers in field or operational environments - Background deploying software to industrial or government settings, with an understanding of constraints like safety, latency, offline ops, or compliance - Familiarity with mobile or web applications, cloud infrastructure, IoT/industrial systems, or real-time data pipelines - Experience navigating sensitive or mission-critical customer environments - Expertise around mining, industrial safety regulations, etc. ### Why Realm? - Work on mission-critical problems at the intersection of AI, security, and global infrastructure - Shape the brand and product of a category-defining company from the ground up - High-ownership, high-impact role with direct influence on company growth - Competitive compensation with significant equity upside - Dynamic, remote work environment with global reach ### Benefits/Perks 🏥 Full medical, dental, and vision benefits 🌴 Unlimited PTO 💰401(k) with 4% safe-harbor match 📈 Equity in an early-stage, fast-growing company 💻 Home office allowance [View posting at Realm](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/realmalliance/445de3e5-d42d-43aa-8595-69afa50fd17b/application) ## About Realm Realm deploys AI on mines' existing cameras, SCADA, sensors, and records to reduce downtime, improve safety, optimize processing, and manage MSHA compliance. Seed · 10–50 people ## Similar jobs [Northwood Space](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/northwood-space) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/7e4a57ecaa9894ba) Washington, DC On-site 3mo ago $170,000–$225,000 [Appian](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/appian) ### [Senior Consultant](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/37251409c02152fd) Mclean, VA On-site 3mo ago $100,000–$200,000 [PwC (US)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/pwc-us) ### [Forward Deployed Software Engineer-Palantir Foundry-Manager](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/5c609381e348c6d6) Chicago, IL · Raleigh, NC · +57 more Hybrid 2w ago $99,000–$232,000 [Booz Allen](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/booz-allen) ### [Palantir Foundry Ontology Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/c82229946c51c9fc) Arlington, VA 1mo ago $77,600–$176,000 [Dropzone AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/dropzone-ai) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/a0ae3c094608eb44) US Remote 3w ago $170,000–$190,000 - [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior) - [Similar jobs in Washington, DC area](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?region=dmv) - [Similar jobs that integrate and configure the product](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=technical-delivery) Hiring at Realm and want this page changed or removed? 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