> 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. # AI Machine Learning Engineering Staff Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/fa0c4182fab01094 Lockheed Martin posts a staff FDE role to build for teams inside the company in TX, at $120,600–$224,000 base, below the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,864 postings with pay. Leads customer-facing delivery as a Staff-level Forward Deployed Engineer for Lockheed Martin's internal AI Factory platform, from solution discovery and architecture through deployment and adoption. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [Lockheed Martin](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/lockheed-martin) First seen Oct 23, 2026 · open on Eightfold as of Nov 8, 2026 **$120,600–$224,000** *annualized* TX Full-time Leads customer-facing delivery as a Staff-level Forward Deployed Engineer for Lockheed Martin's internal AI Factory platform, from solution discovery and architecture through deployment and adoption. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2Ffa0c4182fab01094&placement=top) - [View posting at Lockheed Martin](https://lockheedmartin.eightfold.ai/careers/job/996476611445?domain=lockheedmartin.com) 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 $121K–$224K Below the median Midpoint $172K · median $190K This job $121K to $224K. Senior FDE postings, 1,864 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### The work Builds for teams inside the company Balance **Mixed** Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations (not covered) - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Technical lead ### What they ask for Experience - **5+ years** Related experience in software engineering, platform engineering, MLOps, ML infrastructure, and/or GenAI systems Background - **Software 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 TX. 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**: TX - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Pay**: ## More like this [Bluevine](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/bluevine) ### [Lead AI Solutions Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/be2f5f606513704a) Jersey City, NJ Hybrid 6w ago $153,200–$187,700 [Fanatics](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/fanatics) ### [Applied AI Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/e9efeb50afa5cf93) New York, NY On-site 2w ago $150,000–$200,000 [Citigroup](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/citigroup) ### [Senior Forward Deployed AI Engineer - Vice President](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/6f40305272c7b9b3) New York, NY 3w ago $142,320–$213,480 - [Other jobs at Lockheed Martin (8)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/lockheed-martin) ## The job description from Lockheed Martin ### Standard Job Description Serves as a Staff-level Forward Deployed Engineer for AI Factory (an internal AI/ML Ops Platform), leading the use of Lockheed Martin's AI Factory platform to solve customer MLOps and GenAI problems. Owns customer solution discovery, architecture, implementation strategy, deployment, and adoption for high-value AI/ML workflows while ensuring the platform is used effectively, consistently, and with maximum reuse. Uses this deployment work to identify weaknesses in AI Factory's foundational products and platform, such as design flaws, performance gaps, reliability risks, and integration friction, and drives actionable remediation suggestions back to core platform engineering team. ### Basic Qualifications - 5+ years of related experience in software engineering, platform engineering, MLOps, ML infrastructure, and/or GenAI systems. - Experience designing, deploying, or operating MLOps pipelines, model deployment workflows, data and artifact lineage, or GenAI application backends. - Strong communication skills and the ability to work directly with customers, platform teams, and program stakeholders. - Experience with LLM and GenAI systems, evaluation workflows, prompt or context engineering, or agentic application patterns. - Demonstrated ability to lead technical direction for other engineers through architecture, decomposition, code review, or deployment standards. - Hands-on familiarity with Kubernetes-based deployment patterns, GPU-backed environments, and secure software delivery practices. - U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a Secret or Top Secret clearance. ### Desired Skills - B.S. (or higher) in Computer Science, Electrical / Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related field. - Experience with enterprise AI/ML platforms such as Amazon SageMaker, Databricks Mosaic AI, Google Cloud Vertex AI / Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Microsoft Foundry, Domino Data Lab, Dataiku, IBM watsonx, or DataRobot. - Familiarity with Python and at least one backend or systems language - Demonstrated experience delivering production AI/ML systems or platform capabilities with ambiguous requirements and multiple stakeholders. - Experience working across cloud and on-prem GPU environments. - Ability to communicate technical tradeoffs clearly to senior stakeholders while maintaining delivery momentum across customer and internal teams. ### Pay Information **GeoZone Definition:** GeoZones are geographic groupings created by Lockheed Martin to align compensation ranges with regional labor markets and cost-of-labor differences across the United States. Locations are assigned a Geo Zone based on the primary work location of the role. - Full-time salary range (GEOZONE 1): $150800.00 - $280000.00 - Includes metropolitan areas such as Sunnyvale CA; Pal Alto, CA; New York City metropolitan area; Newark, New Jersey; etc. - Full-time salary range (GEOZONE 2): $135700.00 - $251900.00 - Includes metropolitan areas such as Denver, CO; King of Prussia, PA; Stratford, CT; Moorestown, NJ; etc. - Full-time salary range (GEOZONE 3): $120600.00 - $224000.00 - Includes metropolitan areas such as Dallas–Fort Worth, TX; Orlando, FL; Grand Prairie, TX; Marietta, GA; etc. - Full-time salary range (GEOZONE 4): $108600.00 - $201600.00 - Includes metropolitan areas such as Camden, AR; Lexington, KY; Lufkin, TX; etc. At Lockheed Martin, we know mission success starts with taking care of our people. Our Total Rewards program is designed to attract top talent, support your well-being, and help you grow—both professionally and personally. The salary range for this position is as listed on the requisition. Please note that the salary information listed is a general guideline only. Lockheed Martin considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/ training, key skills as well as market(work location) and business considerations when extending an offer. **Benefits offered:** Medical, Dental, Vision, Flexible work arrangements and schedules (e.g., 4x10), 401(k) match, Paid time off, Holidays, Parental Leave, EAP, Flexible Spending Accounts, Education Assistance, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability. - Annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs may be offered depending on the position. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and can vary from year to year and are tied to a range of performance metrics. - For (Washington state applicants only) Non-represented full-time employees: accrue at least 10 hours per month of Paid Time Off (PTO) to be used for incidental absences and other reasons; receive at least 90 hours for holidays. Represented full time employees accrue 6.67 hours of Vacation per month; accrue up to 52 hours of sick leave annually; receive at least 96 hours for holidays. PTO, Vacation, sick leave, and holiday hours are prorated based on start date during the calendar year. [View posting at Lockheed Martin](https://lockheedmartin.eightfold.ai/careers/job/996476611445?domain=lockheedmartin.com) ## Similar jobs [Etsy](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/etsy) ### [Senior Software Engineer I, Data Storage](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/2a10515b2819fbd4) Brooklyn, NY Hybrid 5mo ago $164,000–$193,000 [Citi (Citigroup Inc.)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/citi-citigroup-inc) ### [Lead Agentic AI Engineer – Vice President](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/0484646229aa0ee1) Irving, TX Hybrid 2w ago $125,760–$188,640 [Antithesis](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/antithesis) ### [Applied AI Software Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/82c7576e3ad4cabe) Vienna, VA On-site 2mo ago $155,000–$185,000 [Newform](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/newform) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/e56f9470663062cf) New York, NY Hybrid 5mo ago $120,000–$200,000 [Ercot](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/ercot) ### [Applied AI Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/8cab7d1c3519b6e3) Taylor, TX Hybrid 5w ago $145,000–$200,000 - [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior) - [Similar jobs that build for teams inside the company](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=internal-deployment) Hiring at Lockheed Martin and want this page changed or removed? 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