Clera

Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco
Salary
$130,000 - $215,000 annually
Level
Mid
Work type
On-site · San Francisco
Visa
Sponsors visas

Open. First seen 29 October 2026.

Apply on the company's site →

About the role

About the Role

Join an early-stage government technology company building software to help law enforcement and prosecutors manage and analyze evidence. As a founding forward deployed engineer, you will work closely with users, address their immediate technical needs, and bring frontline insights into product decisions.

What You'll Do

  • Work directly with law enforcement and prosecutors to understand evidence management challenges and user needs.
  • Build practical solutions for specific problems, including one-off analyses and custom integrations.
  • Travel regularly to spend time with customers and learn from their workflows.
  • Translate customer feedback into implemented features, pull requests, and clear technical specifications.
  • Adapt quickly as priorities and requirements evolve in an early-stage environment.

What We're Looking For

  • At least 3 years of software engineering experience building and delivering production systems, including experience at an early-stage startup.
  • Experience building software that directly addresses user needs and working with end users to turn problems into technical solutions.
  • Ability to work across the stack and deliver end-to-end solutions, including targeted analyses or integrations that may not be intended to scale.
  • Strong autonomy, a bias toward action, and comfort with ambiguity and shifting priorities.
  • Background in government, law enforcement, criminal justice, defense, intelligence, or other sensitive or regulated domains is useful.
  • Willingness to travel extensively and support applicable background check and security clearance processes.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary is $130,000 to $215,000 annually, with founding-level equity and performance-based bonuses. Visa sponsorship is available.

Location

Hybrid in San Francisco, California. New York City is also listed as a location, and remote work with regular travel may be considered for exceptional candidates.

The team: Engineering HIRES STEADILY

This role is one of 207 open in Engineering. 141 were posted in the last 30 days and the oldest in March: a team that hires all year rather than one being built.

WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS

LLM (102 of 207), TypeScript (90 of 207), Python (82 of 207), React (77 of 207), Machine Learning (45 of 207), Supabase (37 of 207), JavaScript (36 of 207)

OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM

From the team and dates on Clera's own job board.

Posting history

Reposted once since 9 September 2026: a posting for this role in San Francisco was taken down and the role was posted again.

Salary context

11 other open postings titled Founding Forward Deployed Engineer state a salary: median USD 180,000 to USD 250,000 a year.

Similar jobs

More jobs like this

PLACESSan Francisco 7,773United States 72,480
COMPANYJobs at Clera 209

Is this your posting? Email info@careerholo.com to have it removed.