ForgeApplyTry it free

ForgeApply · Job listing

Head of Forward Deployed Engineering

Cape

New York, NY, US$200k – $275konsite

Apply in about a minute — without sacrificing quality.

ForgeApply autofills this application and tailors your resume to this exact posting. You review everything before it's sent. Free trial, no card required.

Apply with ForgeApplyView original posting →

About this role

ABOUT CAPE

Cape is America’s privacy-first mobile carrier. Our mission is to be a force for good in global wireless. Cape was founded in 2022 by people who believe privacy is a fundamental right, not a luxury to be traded away. Our journey began when our founder recognized a critical vulnerability in our modern world: everyone relies on the same stagnant cellular infrastructure and legacy systems that track our every movement, monitor and profile our connections, and lose and sell our personal data.

Instead of accepting the status quo, we decided to fix it. National security professionals, journalists, parents, and everyone in between can stay connected and have privacy.

We didn’t just build a layer on top of old tech; we built America’s most private and secure mobile carrier from the ground up. By building our own network from scratch, we are able to design and build a suite of privacy and security features that no other carrier on the planet can offer.

Today, Cape provides our secure network to consumers, businesses, and government agencies alike. We closed our Series C in March 2026, and we are scaling rapidly, with the goal of giving people back control of their most personal information.

THE TEAM

At Cape, we are the architects of a privacy-centric movement that is just getting started. We are relentless builders, constantly innovating at the edge of what's possible in telecommunications. We operate on a foundation of high trust and high expectations. Our structure is flat, and collaboration matters more than hierarchy. As a member of our team, you will collaborate with world-class engineers, architects, and visionaries, and work across organizational lines to solve "impossible" problems and deliver mission-critical results for our users every single day.

THE PROBLEM

The commercial cellular network represents trillions of dollars in private investment worldwide. It is performant, highly available, near ubiquitous, and the spec is mature and well understood. It’s the perfect transport layer for government use cases, if only they could trust the network. But they cannot: that infrastructure is easily disrupted and surveilled, and existing solutions are typically clunky, proprietary, and fail at the first sign of a contested RF environment.

Cape started at first principles to build a secure network architecture that operates through assumed compromised physical infrastructure. Now we need to solve operational capabilities at scale. How do we provide security-first, resilient communications for operators at the tactical edge? How do we ensure connectivity without compromise when the backhaul is being actively jammed, intercepted, or physically severed?

We are moving from validated technology to mission-critical infrastructure that works in contested environments when failure is not an option. Leading this team of engineers is a high stakes, critical role and will be deeply rewarding for the right person.

THE ROLE

Cape’s platform gives customers end-to-end control of their digital identity, even as they connect to untrusted networks, optimizing for resiliency, privacy, and security at every turn. As the Head of Federal Engineering, you will gain rare insight into the world’s most challenging environments. You will own the technical execution of the federal business, partnering with Business Development and Product to bridge the gap between our core technology and the specific, demanding requirements of our government partners.

You will cultivate a high-performing technical team, providing the mentorship needed to deliver outcomes in highly regulated spaces. Your charge is to grow the business and empower your engineers to work autonomously in remote locations, making great technical decisions to build the most overlooked yet critical components of modern Command and Control (C2)--the transport layer.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

- Architect and execute the technical vision for our federal engineering organization, building the secure, resilient, and scalable network and platform that our nation's most critical missions depend on. Your leadership will directly translate our privacy-first ethos into capabilities that protect and empower those in public service.

- Lead, mentor, and inspire a world-class team of engineers dedicated to solving the nation's toughest Command and Control challenges. You will foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and unwavering integrity, empowering your team to deliver solutions that meet the highest standards of excellence and impact.

- Serve as the key technical partner to our federal customers, translating their complex mission requirements into tangible, deployed solutions. You will build and nurture deep relationships, ensuring that we are not just a vendor, but a trusted partner in advancing national security and public trust.

- Take complete ownership and serve as the technical owner for our federal customers. You will ensure that our engineering practices, security protocols, and delivery timelines set a new standard for what is possible in government technology.

- Steer our engagement with the unique challenges and opportunities of the federal landscape. You will be the bridge between our core technology and the specific, demanding requirements of our government partners, ensuring our solutions are always at the vanguard of innovation and mission-ready.

WHAT WE VALUE

- Proven ability to learn continuously, work independently, and make decisions with minimal supervision.

- A belief that the best leaders empower their teams to achieve the impossible. You are a mentor and a force-multiplier, dedicated to growing the next generation of engineering leaders and fostering a culture where every individual can do their best work in service of the mission.

- The ability to take a thoughtful, practical approach to problem-solving that considers tradeoffs and avoids over-engineering.

- Skill and comfort working in a

Ready to apply to Cape?

Apply in about a minute

Similar jobs