Forward Deployed Engineer

About BRINC: At BRINC, we are building the technology that will define the future of emergency response. As a vertically integrated U.S. drone technology company, BRINC designs and manufactures unmanned aircraft systems, autonomous drone stations, command-and-control software, and advanced autonomy for public safety. Today, BRINC deploys Drone as First Responder (DFR) networks that dispatch drones directly to 911 calls, providing real-time aerial intelligence before ground units arrive and helping first responders make faster, safer decisions. BRINC serves more than 1,000 public safety customers across all 50 states, is the sole drone supplier to Motorola Solutions, and has raised more than $280 million from leading strategic and technology investors, including Motorola Solutions, Index Ventures, Sam Altman, Dylan Field, and others. BRINC is recruiting exceptional engineers to build the next generation of autonomous emergency-response technology, including flight-critical firmware and advanced pilot-assistance capabilities. About this Role: We are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to embed onsite with BRINC’s most critical customers and own their success in the field. You will support the installation and commissioning of BRINC’s end-to-end drone systems and live operational flights, triage and debug issues across hardware, firmware, and software, and implement fixes on-site. You will be the direct line between the customer and engineering at headquarters, turning what you see in real operations into shipped features and resolved issues. This is a hybrid of software engineering, technical support, and product expertise, and it suits someone equally comfortable writing code, flying a drone, and briefing customer command staff. This role is upwards of 90% travel and suits someone genuinely excited to be on the road and embedded with our customers. Expect multi-week deployments at key customer sites, with regular travel to BRINC’s Seattle headquarters in between. Key Responsibilities: Deploy onsite for multi-week engagements with critical customers to install, configure, and commission BRINC drones, robotic drone nests, remote controllers, and proprietary LiveOps software into live 911 response operations. Support live operational flights, including preparation testing, pre-operational briefings with contingencies, and debriefs with customer personnel and BRINC teams. Triage and debug issues in the field across software, firmware, hardware, networking, and RF, driving them to root cause under operational time pressure. Implement and validate fixes on-site. Write, test, and deploy code and configuration changes, then upstream that work into the mainline product. Serve as the primary technical liaison between the customer and engineering at headquarters, translating field observations into reproducible bug reports, requirements, and feature specifications. Rotate back to BRINC’s Seattle headquarters to work directly with embedded, perception, controls, test, and manufacturing engineers, landing new features and fixes and validating them in the operational environment before broad release. Maintain deep technical expertise in BRINC products and proprietary software, a high level of flying proficiency, and an FAA Part 107 Pilot’s License with all required recurrent training. Build trust-based relationships with customers and public safety agencies, and remain a calm, credible presence during mission-critical incidents. Document issues, create knowledge base articles, and contribute to training materials and runbooks so field learnings scale to the team and to the customer. Participate in an after-hours support rotation to ensure continuous service for agencies operating 24/7/365. Responsibly manage assigned BRINC equipment and maintain its functionality and appearance in front of our public safety partners. Qualifications: 4+ years of industry experience in software engineering, field engineering, systems engineering, or technical