Forward-Deployed Software Engineer
Forward-deployed software engineer serving as the technical bridge between Recidiviz's core team and state criminal justice partners: scoping deployments, untangling messy legacy data, and writing SQL/Python/TypeScript to integrate the data platform into government environments, with ~10% travel.
- Compensation
- $139.1K–$159.7K / yr
- Location
- New York, New York, United States, Oakland, California, United States, Remote
- Work setup
- Remote
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- 3+ years
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- High empathy and kindness
- 3+ years of practical experience building, customizing, and deploying software in a collaborative environment
- Experience scoping technical projects, defining product requirements, or translating business/policy needs into technical solutions
- Experience in a customer-facing and/or cross-functional role, communicating technical concepts to engineering and non-technical stakeholders
- Strong proficiency in SQL and relational databases, with appetite for wrangling large-scale, messy data
- Experience writing code and scripts in Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, or similar languages
- High tolerance for ambiguity and grit to explore, experiment, and document solutions in complex legacy environments
- Willingness to travel occasionally to partner states (~10%)
- Bachelor's degree in a technical field or equivalent experience
Nice to have
- Experience with government technology, legacy enterprise systems, or highly regulated data (e.g., CJIS, HIPAA)
- Experience building and managing data pipelines or utilizing ETL tools
- Comfort working in cloud infrastructure environments like GCP, AWS, or Azure
- Experience with React and full-stack app development
- Familiarity with AI tools like Claude, Cursor, or Copilot
Full description
Location: Remote, New York City, or Oakland
Role Type: Full-time
Compensation: $139,050 or $159,650, depending on seniority
Visa sponsorship: Not available
Hires remotely in: United States
Experience: 3+ years of technical experience
Recidiviz is thrilled to be hiring Forward-Deployed Software Engineers to join our team! We’re a small, fast-moving group that uses complex criminal justice data from our state partners to build products that target the drivers of incarceration. That’s where you come in. We’re looking for new teammates to be the technical bridge between our core engineering team and our state partners, scoping and deploying solutions into government environments on the front lines to help our products increase their impact across the country.
About us
Recidiviz is creating safer, healthier communities by improving outcomes for people in the criminal justice system. We build technology to safely reduce the number of people in prison and to help criminal justice leaders embrace data-driven decision-making.
Using software tools and thoughtful product design, we’ve been able to safely and permanently reduce incarceration and improve outcomes. We work side-by-side with leaders of the criminal justice system, people in prison and on supervision, and ecosystem partners to build a better path forward. In addition to the revenue we earn from state partners, some of the most respected philanthropists and foundations support our work.
People who succeed at Recidiviz lead with kindness and humility, assume good intent, learn from failure, and fix problems when they see them. They are excited to work arm in arm with government leadership and staff to improve outcomes. They are great listeners. They build deep relationships with and empathy for the people we work with and the people who our mission serves, even when those two groups feel at odds.
About the role
As a Forward-Deployed Software Engineer, you will be directly on the front lines of our work, collaborating with state Departments of Corrections, government IT staff, and justice-impacted individuals to scope, adapt, and integrate Recidiviz’s data platform and products into their existing environments. You will partner with state leadership to understand their goals and constraints, define the right technical solutions, and then dive into complex, real-world data systems to make those solutions a reality.
You will also act as a crucial feedback loop. By gaining first-hand context of what works and what doesn't "in the wild," you will collaborate with our core product, design, and engineering teams to level up our platforms. You should have strong engineering fundamentals, an affinity for problem-solving in ambiguous environments, and the patience and customer savvy to turn complex deployments into long-term partnerships.