Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter our adversaries. In the 21st century, conflict moves at algorithmic speed and foresight equals firepower. Our agentic AI is purpose-built to compete with China—from cross-Strait conflict to gray zone coercion. Trained on the most mission-relevant datasets in defense, our technology models adversary behavior, simulates campaigns, and recommends the best course of action to decision makers. Our AI systems are some of the most trusted in the industry and actively used on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific to keep the peace and save lives.
Exceptional technology starts with exceptional people. Vannevar is a small agile team combining world-class engineers with veteran strategists who bring deep expertise in defense and tradecraft. We’re building a company defined by mission impact, user empathy, and disciplined growth. In just three years, we grew from $3M to $80M in ARR, achieved early profitability, and reached unicorn status—proving that disruption doesn’t require an ego, and staying power doesn’t mean standing still.
Our Mission teams operate like small startups within the Vannevar Labs umbrella. As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will serve as the technical owner for a mission and its associated customer engagements. You will work directly with operators, analysts, and technical stakeholders supporting national security missions, owning the architecture, development, deployment, and fielding of software solutions tailored to real-world operational needs.
In this role, you will act as a senior technical counterpart to customer stakeholders — translating mission requirements into scalable software, navigating government technical environments, and ensuring capabilities are delivered reliably into production. You will collaborate closely with product, design, platform engineering, and mission teammates to deliver high-impact outcomes, while remaining a hands-on individual contributor.
We're redefining how America competes. Our products are used today by friendly forces around the world to shape adversary behavior, expose malign influence, and detect illicit activity.
We started in 2019 with a belief that the public servants who put themselves in harm’s way deserve better technology. The defense status quo wasn’t cutting it, so we built a team that obsesses over real-world mission impact. We iterate fast, deploy forward, and build with end users in mind.
Since then, we’ve grown from $3M to $80M in revenue, stayed profitable, and scaled to 200+ people, while raising just $12M. We value ownership, transparency, and teamwork. We build like our work matters, because it does. And we’re building a company where the best operators in the country come together to win, grow, and do the best work of their careers.
We’re expanding our edge across cyber, economic warfare, and next-gen sensing. If you want to help America win before and beyond the battlefield, we want you. Check out our open roles at https://vannevarlabs.com/careers/.
