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Ditto is a venture-backed platform company ($145M+ funded) that enables real-time, peer-to-peer data synchronization for resilient applications in disconnected or low-connectivity environments. The company serves mission-critical use cases across aviation, retail, defense, and government sectors, including customers like Chick-fil-A, Delta Airlines, and the U.S. military.
As a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will be the technical bridge between Ditto's core product team and its most critical customers, particularly within the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This is a high-impact role combining hands-on platform engineering with customer-facing technical leadership.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead on-site architecture, deployment, and configuration of Ditto's Core Aggregation Node within SOCOM's secure, distributed cloud environment
- Stand up, harden, and operate production workloads on AWS GovCloud at IL4/IL5/IL6 impact levels, ensuring full compliance with federal security and accreditation requirements
- Own the complete lifecycle of Kubernetes clusters (RKE2/K3s variants) across cloud and on-premise environments, including upgrades, scaling, monitoring, and incident response
- Architect and troubleshoot secure data synchronization pipelines traversing Cross Domain Solutions (CDS) and data diodes, ensuring policy-compliant unidirectional data transfer between classification levels
- Translate edge-case operational realities (ATO constraints, network segmentation, cross-domain latency) into actionable technical requirements for the core product team
- Engage directly with operational users and Government technical stakeholders to understand mission workflows, integration needs, environmental constraints, and deployment readiness
- Analyze and validate customer requirements, documenting operational and technical specifications including data sources, interfaces, connectivity, and security constraints
- Provide advanced Tier 2/3 technical support and sustainment engineering, including issue reproduction, root-cause analysis, and coordination with core engineering teams
- Support integration testing, demonstrations, and operational validation events; develop technical test procedures and track deficiencies
- Maintain integration documentation, configuration baselines, deployment procedures, and provide technical knowledge transfer to Government operators
This role requires deep technical expertise in secure cloud infrastructure, container orchestration, and government compliance frameworks, combined with strong communication skills to translate complex technical realities into clear requirements for product teams.
Requirements:
- Active TS/SCI security clearance (U.S. Citizenship strictly required due to federal security clearance requirements)
- 5+ years of hands-on experience in platform engineering, DevOps, SRE, or cloud infrastructure engineering, including deployment and troubleshooting of complex production systems
- 2+ years of technical experience with container orchestration platforms and cloud-native architectures in secure environments, including CI/CD pipeline design and infrastructure-as-code tooling
- Demonstrated experience with AWS GovCloud or equivalent FedRAMP-authorized cloud platforms at IL4/IL5/IL6 impact levels, with deep understanding of compliance, networking, and architectural constraints
- Highly adaptable problem-solving mindset; ability to navigate ambiguity, move fast, and balance immediate operational fixes with long-term technical fidelity
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate complex technical realities and user workflows into clear, actionable requirements for product engineers
- Demonstrated experience leading customer discovery sessions and translating operational needs into clear, testable technical requirements
- Experience diagnosing complex applications, data synchronization, integration, and networking issues; ability to coordinate escalations and fixes with software engineering teams
- Proven ability to communicate technical constraints, tradeoffs, and remediation plans to customers while coordinating scope and delivery with Program Management
Nice to Have:
- Hands-on experience with Cross Domain Solutions (CDS) and data diodes; architecting or troubleshooting unidirectional data flows between unclassified and classified networks
- Experience with Authority to Operate (ATO) process, STIG implementation, vulnerability management, and working with ISSMs/ISSOs
- Familiarity with SOCOM-specific or SOF-centric IT environments and SOCOM enterprise network architecture
- Experience with GitOps workflows (ArgoCD, Flux) for managing Kubernetes deployments in air-gapped or disconnected environments
- Experience with event streaming or data messaging platforms (Kafka, NATS, RabbitMQ) in high-security environments
- Previous experience working directly with DoD, IC, or SOCOM customers in classified network environments
- Background in systems programming (Rust, Go, C++) alongside standard scripting for deep platform optimization
