Swarm Aero - Forward Deployed Engineer (Remote)

deCircle Open

Remote San Francisco Mid-level Software Engineering

At a glance

Mid-level Software Engineering role at deCircle. Remote, United States · $180,000–$240,000 base.

SalaryStated by deCircle

$180,000 – $240,000

Base salary for this role, in USD per year, as published in the posting.

This role, from deCircleOur estimate for the market: $170,000–$240,000Median $201,000

The range includes the market median of $201,000 for mid-level software engineering roles in San Francisco, compared against the San Francisco market.

Worked out from 241 postings that stated pay, median $201,000. Last updated Nov 13, 2026.

RoleSoftware Engineering

SeniorityMid-level

LocationSan Francisco

WorkplaceRemote

Base pay$180,000–$240,000

PostedOct 12, 2026

Role brief

remoteroles summary, based on the employer's posting.

What you'll do

Deploy and connect C2 software at military customer sites, working directly with operators in the field
Diagnose failures in live deployments and write rapid fixes, turning operator needs into same-day code
Support drone operators during missions, including flying air, water or land assets
Bring observations from field work back to the core engineering team
Work independently across hardware, software and technician tasks when conditions are unclear or resources are limited

What you bring

Five to seven years in full-stack software engineering, forward-deployed engineering, or both
U.S. citizenship or Green Card status is required for this role
You’re comfortable spending fifty to seventy-five percent of your time traveling

Who this fits

This mid-level role suits an engineer who can also operate in the field, troubleshooting and shipping code alongside military and government customers. It is U.S.-remote, with substantial domestic and international travel to coastal or water-adjacent locations. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or Green Card holders.

From the employer

Source: Paraform - https://www.paraform.com/share/swarm-aero/cmqraxsp6000z0dkyrnfwvhsv (NOTE: Paraform shows this role as not accepting new applications as of 2026-10-12)

Compensation: $180,000-$240,000 + competitive equity.

Location: US-based remote (listed San Francisco); 50-75% domestic and international travel to coastal/water-adjacent sites. Visa: not open to any visas (US citizen / Green Card).

About this role

Forward Deployed Engineer with 5-7 years of experience to embed directly with U.S. military and government customers and own the technical success of Swarm Aero's C2 systems in live operational environments. Equal parts software engineer and field operator: writing production code, debugging distributed systems under pressure, and deploying software in high-stakes contexts.

What will you be doing?

Deploy and integrate C2 software on-site with military operators, domestic and international (50-75% travel)
Break-fix troubleshooting and rapid code development in the field; gather requirements from uniformed operators and ship same-day
Work with drone operators, potentially flying assets in air, water or land during live missions
Feed field insights back to core engineering
Operate autonomously in ambiguous, resource-constrained environments (hardware, code, technician work)

Tech stack

Golang, React, Python, C/C++, Java, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD

About Swarm Aero

Building the largest swarming UAV and swarming aircraft network, plus C2 software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets. Team from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer, Blue Origin, Boom. 12 employees, founded 2022, $59M total funding.