Rockstar Games

Forward Deployed Engineer

Rockstar Games$143K — $165K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Strong software engineering fundamentals with ability to defend architectural choices
  • Hands-on experience with digital engineering toolchains like CAD, CFD, or FEM
  • Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-paced environments
  • Willingness to work on-site with U.S. customers in defense or aerospace sectors
  • U.S. citizenship required
  • Clearance eligibility required, with active clearance as a strong plus

Responsibilities

  • Embed with customer engineering teams to understand workflows and technical constraints
  • Architect and build software solutions for integration into existing digital engineering ecosystems
  • Serve as the primary technical interface, identifying where software can add value
  • Develop, test, and maintain integrations and workflow solutions
  • Write clean, maintainable code for productization across deployments
  • Translate field experience into actionable insights for product development
  • Participate in internal engineering reviews and roadmap planning

Benefits

  • Technical career progression without diverting to sales
  • Directly influence product development based on field insights
  • Collaboration with both customer and internal engineering teams
  • Access to internal resources and regular synchronization for support
  • Immediate impact on large, complex organizational operations
Full Job Description
The Role

The software doesn't just get handed off, it gets deployed into some of the most complex engineering environments in aerospace and defense. As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll be embedded directly inside customer organizations, operating as part of their team while remaining tightly connected to the product and engineering core.

This is not a support role. You are a builder. You'll write real code, architect integrations, and solve hard problems that emerge at the intersection of digital engineering workflows and mission-critical operations. The challenges you'll tackle require the instincts of a strong software engineer and the adaptability of someone who thrives in unstructured environments. Challenges like connecting CAD, CFD, FEM pipelines to the platform; unlocking cross-discipline and cross-clearance collaboration; enabling organizations to actually use the tools in which they've invested.

You'll work alongside Program Managers who are embedded in the same customer environments. They carry the program context and stakeholder relationships while you own the technical execution. Together, you operate as a unit capable of handling almost anything a customer throws at you. The best Forward Deployed Engineers make the product smarter, not just the customers happier.

What You'll Do
Onsite Technical Delivery
  • Embed with customer engineering teams to understand their workflows, data environments, and technical constraints
  • Architect and build software solutions that integrate the platform into existing digital engineering ecosystems (CAD, CFD, FEM, simulation pipelines, and related toolchains)
  • Serve as the primary technical interface for the customer - not just answering questions, but proactively identifying where our software can drive more value


Software Development
  • Develop, test, and maintain integrations and workflow solutions following modern software engineering practices
  • Write clean, maintainable code that can be productized or reused across customer deployments
  • Contribute to internal tooling and documentation that scales your knowledge across the team


Feedback Loop to Product
  • Translate field experience into actionable product insights - you are one of the clearest signals on what customers actually need
  • Participate in internal engineering reviews, architecture discussions, and roadmap planning
  • Help develop proposals and technical approaches for new customer opportunities


Qualifications
Required
  • Strong software engineering fundamentals - you write production-quality code and can defend your architectural decisions
  • Hands-on experience with digital engineering toolchains: CAD, CFD, FEM, or related simulation and modeling environments
  • Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments without a lot of hand-holding
  • Ability to work on-site with customers in a U.S. defense or aerospace context (clearance eligibility required; active clearance a strong plus)
  • U.S. citizenship required


Preferred
  • Experience integrating engineering software into larger data or workflow platforms
  • Background in aerospace, defense, or other systems-engineering-heavy industries
  • Exposure to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) or digital thread / digital twin concepts
  • Exposure to or direct experience with advanced CAD, CFD, or FEM tools


Why This Role

The engineers who do this job well become some of the most technically well-rounded people in the industry. You'll see how large, complex organizations actually work - not just the happy path. You'll build things that get used immediately. And because you're reporting into the Customer Success org (not a sales or account team), your career trajectory stays technical. You'll also have the team behind you: regular syncs, access to internal engineering resources, and a clear path to influence the product you're deploying.

Salary Range
  • $143,000 - $165,000 a year


About Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games is a video game publisher and developer based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, and as successor to BMG Interactive, a dormant video game publisher Take-Two had previously acquired. The company's studios are located in Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Lincoln, New England, San Diego, and Toronto. Rockstar Games primarily publishes games in the action-adventure genre, while racing games also saw success for the company. Some of their most popular and critically acclaimed franchises include Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead, and Max Payne.
Learn more about Rockstar Games
Size
2,000 employees
Industry

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