Forward Deployed Engineer

Technical Operations Engineer — Defence & Mission Systems | London

Hybrid/Field-based | Up to 50% travel

We're working with a fast-scaling, VC-backed defense technology company building next-generation sensing and detection systems that protect critical infrastructure and military operations worldwide. Having recently opened their London office, they're now hiring a small team of Technical Operations Engineers to be the boots-on-the-ground link between cutting-edge hardware/software and the customers who depend on it in the field.

The Role

You’ll sit at the intersection of hardware and software — integrating sensors, RF devices, and mission-critical software into customer environments, diagnosing complex issues that span networking, hardware, and code, and building the tools and automation that keep systems reliable under real-world conditions. This isn't a desk job: you’ll be embedded on customer sites roughly half your time, solving problems live rather than from a support ticket queue.

What you’ll be doing

• Integrating sensor and RF systems with customer infrastructure — physically (networking, power, hardware bring-up) and via software (APIs, data pipelines)
• Debugging complex issues spanning hardware, software, and networking layers
• Developing scripts, diagnostics, and automation to improve system reliability
• Feeding operational insight back to engineering to directly shape product improvements
• Documenting configurations, fixes, and lessons learned for internal and customer use
• Traveling to customer and test sites for deployment, troubleshooting, and mission support

What we’re looking for

• Strong technical foundation — degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or equivalent hands-on experience
• Deep comfort in Linux environments — SSH, networking tools, system-level debugging
• Proficiency in Python, Bash, or similar scripting/programming
• Experience integrating or maintaining hardware or sensor systems
• A problem-solver who can operate independently and under pressure, in the field
• Genuine enthusiasm for travel and on-site technical work

Nice to have

• Background in defense, aerospace, or other mission-critical environments
• Experience with telemetry, IoT-style architectures, or distributed systems
• Exposure to cloud/edge environments (Docker, AWS, Azure)
• Strong documentation and communication skills — comfortable bridging technical and customer-facing conversations

This is a rare opportunity to join a team early, with genuine scope to grow into a technical lead or mentoring position as the London team scales. If you’ve spent time solving hard problems in demanding, real-world environments — whether that’s a military, aerospace, or complex commercial field engineering background — we want to hear from you.

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