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FDE security clearance jobs

Defense and government AI deployments often require U.S. clearances. That changes who can apply, where you work, and how compensation is structured.

Why clearance shows up in FDE hiring

Forward Deployed Engineers in defense tech and government-adjacent AI frequently work on-site in controlled facilities (including SCIFs), on air-gapped networks, or with classified data. Employers cannot staff those engagements without candidates who already hold — or can obtain — the required clearance.

Common requirements

Secret — common baseline for many defense contractor software roles
Top Secret (TS) — higher sensitivity programs
TS/SCI — frequent ask for frontier defense AI and intelligence-community-adjacent work

Citizenship and background constraints apply. If a JD says “active clearance required,” treat it as a hard filter — not a nice-to-have.

Employers to watch

Anduril — defense AI / edge software; clearance + travel common
Vannevar Labs — often TS/SCI-coded FDE postings
Scale AI — commercial + government/defense delivery tracks
Select government contractors and security vendors (Virtru and similar clearance-required FDE postings appear periodically)

Compensation and lifestyle tradeoffs

Clearance-required FDE work can carry a premium versus otherwise similar commercial roles, but lifestyle differs: more on-site expectations, travel to bases or partner facilities, and stricter device/network rules. Ask explicitly about:

Travel percentage and per diem
Whether clearance must be active on day one
Polygraph requirements
How model updates work in air-gapped environments

How to prepare (if you are clearance-eligible)

Strengthen enterprise + constrained deployment skills (see skills matrix)
Study air-gapped patterns — Phase 2 guide hub: Tech
Practice case interviews that include security and compliance as first-class constraints: decomp / case