Forward Deployed Team Lead, Federal (AI)

Location: Tysons, Virginia, United States. U.S. citizenship and authorization to work in the United States without current or future company sponsorship are required. An active Department of Defense security clearance is preferred.

Salary: $130,000–$194,000 USD per year, plus benefits, equity, and a competitive compensation package.

Company

C3 AI develops enterprise AI application software, including an AI platform, industry-specific SaaS applications, and generative AI solutions.

What you will do

• Own federal customer accounts end to end, from workflow scoping and architecture through production deployment.
• Design data flows, integrations, identity models, and deployment topologies across IL boundaries.
• Write production backend services, data pipelines, APIs, and integrations.
• Own deployment roadmaps, statements of work, milestones, risks, dependencies, and scope decisions.
• Deploy workloads across IL2–IL6, including SIPR, JWICS, air-gapped networks, Advana, and other CDAO-managed environments.
• Drive ATO and cATO activities, maintain SSPs and POA&Ms, and transfer field learnings into the core product.

Requirements

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of production software development experience, including 2+ years as a technical lead.
• Strong proficiency in Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Java, Go, or C++.
• Experience taking systems from zero to production and delivering solutions to U.S. federal customers.
• Knowledge of PMOs, ATOs, AOs, ISSMs, RMF, FedRAMP, and federal contract vehicles.
• Hands-on experience deploying into accredited environments is required, with IL5 minimum; IL6, SIPR, and JWICS experience is preferred.

Nice to have

• Active TS/SCI clearance or willingness to pursue a security clearance.
• Experience at a federal-focused software vendor or service software factory.
• Experience with AWS GovCloud, C2S, Azure Government, Government Secret, Kubernetes, Terraform, CI/CD in disconnected environments, or large-scale data engineering.

Culture & Benefits

• Work directly with civilian agency and DoD/DoW customers.
• Benefits package and generous equity plan.
• Equal opportunity and affirmative action employment practices.