Forward Deployed Software Engineer – Federal Health, Civilian

Palantir Technologies

Forward Deployed Software Engineer solving critical problems in federal health and civilian agencies. Working directly with customers on mission-critical tasks and innovative solutions in a dynamic environment.

Posted 5/7/2026full-timeWashington, D.C. • Washington • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $135,000 - $200,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudJavaJavaScriptPythonTypeScript

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Palantir powers mission-critical work across federal health and civilian agencies - from improving patient care and accelerating public health responses, to helping farmers access services, modernizing tax record reviews, and improving aviation safety.
Forward Deployed Software Engineers (FDSEs) work directly with customers to rapidly understand their hardest problems and build solutions against them.
Projects often start with an open-ended question: "How do we respond to a foodborne illness outbreak faster?" or "Where is our medical supply chain failing patients?" Your job is to show up and solve them.
In Federal Health/Civil, your responsibilities look like those of a startup CTO. You'll own end-to-end execution of high-stakes projects within small, high-ownership teams, spanning the full stack of execution: whiteboarding architecture with engineers, building data pipelines and operational workflows, deploying AI agents, advising customer executives, and driving strategy with your team - sometimes all in the same day.
Whether you want to be an entrepreneur or an engineering leader, Palantir is built to get you there. You'll learn to unpack ambiguous problems and reason carefully about the cost and consequence of solutions. You'll work autonomously, make consequential decisions, and build with some of the country's most important institutions - with colleagues who will support and challenge you along the way.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Strong engineering background, preferred in fields such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Physics.
Experience with healthcare, logistics, aviation, or readiness analysis is a plus.
Familiarity with AI agents, data structures, storage systems, cloud infrastructure, front-end frameworks, and other technical tools.
Understanding of how technical decisions impact the user of what you’re building.
Strong coder with demonstrated proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, C++, TypeScript/JavaScript, or similar.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively in teams of technical and non-technical individuals, and comfortable working in a rapidly changing environment with dynamic objectives and iteration with users.
Demonstrated ability to continuously learn, work independently, and make decisions with minimal supervision.
Willingness and interest to travel as needed.
Active U.S. security clearance at the Top Secret level, or willingness to obtain or upgrade to a Top Secret clearance

Benefits

Comp & perks

Employees (and their eligible dependents) can enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as voluntary life insurance
Employees are automatically covered by Palantir’s basic life, AD&D and disability insurance
Commuter benefits
Relocation assistance
Take what you need paid time off, not accrual based
2 weeks paid time off built into the end of each year (subject to team and business needs)
10 paid holidays throughout the calendar year
Supportive leave of absence program including time off for military service and medical events
Paid leave for new parents and subsidized back-up care for all parents
Fertility and family building benefits including but not limited to adoption, surrogacy, and preservation
Stipend to help with expenses that come with a new child
Employees can enroll in Palantir’s 401k plan

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

PythonJavaC++TypeScriptJavaScriptAI agentsdata structuresstorage systemscloud infrastructurefront-end frameworks

Soft Skills

collaborationindependent workdecision makingadaptabilityproblem solvingcommunicationleadershipstrategic thinkingautonomylearning agility

Certifications

Top Secret security clearance