Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Cleared (TS/SCI)

Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services.

Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we're building toward something much larger - the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service.

Our platform reaches 55 million Americans across 50+ agencies. Our goal: build technology that touches the lives of 100 million residents by the end of the year.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We're builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn't be a luxury in government. It's how you earn trust back.

Clearance and Eligibility

This role requires an active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance. United States citizenship is required, because it is a condition of eligibility for the clearance the role depends on.

The Role

Most government software was built for compliance, not for the people who use it. Kaizen is changing that, and the engineers who work here are the reason it's possible. At the senior level, this role carries more than code: you're shaping how AI-native features get designed, scoped, and shipped across a platform that millions of Americans touch when they need something from their government. You'll be one of a small number of engineers with direct influence over what gets built and how: setting technical direction, mentoring teammates, and driving decisions that stick.

Location

This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ or DC office. Candidates must reside in New York or DC or be able to commute to New York City or DC to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays).

What You'll Do

• Architect and ship full-stack features end-to-end, from scoping and technical design through build, iteration, and production

• Build and integrate against the Palantir stack: Foundry ontologies and pipelines, AIP agents, and Maven Smart System workflows

• Build inside classification and data-handling constraints rather than around them

• Lead the development of AI-powered product surfaces: intelligent intake flows, real-time constituent assistants, automated case routing, agency operator dashboards

• Set technical direction and raise the bar on code quality. Your decisions become the patterns the rest of the team builds on

• Engage directly with federal agency stakeholders to translate messy real-world requirements into clean, shippable product

• Own platform reliability and performance at government scale: real SLAs, real users, no abstraction layer between you and accountability

• Mentor earlier-career engineers through code review, pairing, and direct technical feedback

What You'll Bring

• 5+ years of professional engineering experience, with a track record of owning complex features and systems, not just executing on them

• Hands-on development experience with Palantir Foundry, AIP, or Maven Smart System. You have modeled against the ontology, shipped pipelines or AIP agents, and can say what the platform does well and where you had to work around it

• Deep fluency in React / Next.js and Node.js / TypeScript / Postgres. Fast, not just functional

• AI coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, Claude) are already baked into how you work. You've shipped with them, and you move measurably faster because of it

• You've built something real: a product, an open source project, a system you designed and stood behind

• Proven ability to operate in ambiguity: you define the problem as often as you solve it, and you don't stall waiting for the answer to come to you

• A genuine orientation toward the end user, the person on the other side of the screen isn't an abstraction to you

Strong Candidates May Also...

• Have shipped software inside a classified or otherwise accredited environment, and know where the real friction lives

• Have been a Forward Deployed Engineer, or worked a program where Palantir was prime and you were the one making the integration actually work

• Have touched federal, state, or local government tech, or have built in other regulated, high-stakes environments where the constraints were real

• Have cloud deployment depth: AWS, Vercel, GitHub Actions, ECS/Fargate

• Have experience with design systems and component libraries and a clear opinion on when a component is right vs. just functional

• Have led technical work in an early-stage environment where the job was figuring it out, not following a playbook

What Kaizen Offers

Health & Insurance

• 100% coverage across the board: medical through Oxford/United (Gold and Platinum PPO plans), dental through Guardian PPO, and vision through Beam - all fully covered for employees, with 100% coverage for dependents.

• $100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA.

• One Medical membership, on us - same-day primary care, 24/7 virtual visits, and offices all over the city.

• Fertility and family-building support through Carrot.

• 401(k) through Guideline, with a 2% company match.

Family & Time Off

• 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents.

• Unlimited PTO, with a two-week minimum (we mean it when we say take time off!)

• Closed for all federal holidays.

• Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas.

• Company offsites throughout the year.

Office & Remote Setup

• Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees. $500 for remote employees.

• $50/month commuter benefit (company contribution).

• Expensed lunch while in the office.

• Company-provided laptop of your choice.

Wellness

• Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse - right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg). A $225/month value, on us. For remote employees, $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement.

Stipends

• $100/month utility stipend.

• $500/year professional development.

• $250/year recreation.

• $300/quarter pet care stipend.