Forward Deployed Engineer

Overview

Purple Unicorn, on behalf of SalesPatriot , is hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer.

Non-negotiable : ALL ROLES ARE ON-SITE IN SAN FRANCISCO. IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED YOU MUST BE LOCAL OR WILLING TO MOVE

Must be authorized to work in the US

About SalesPatriot

At SalesPatriot, we are more than a software tool—we carry forward a proud legacy of service and innovation. Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought in World War II & Vietnam as soldiers and fighter pilots, safeguarding the values and liberties that define our nation. Through our expertise in defense contracting, software development, and AI, we honor their legacy by contributing to the modern-day arsenal of democracy, helping those who build and innovate keep our country strong.

SalesPatriot's Mission

Non-negotiables : ALL ROLES ARE ON-SITE IN SAN FRANCISCO. IF YOU’RE NOT WILLING TO MOVE, PLEASE DO NOT APPLY

America\'s defense industrial base runs on infrastructure from the 1980s. Distributors & Manufacturers managing our supply chain and billions in critical component level assemblies still rely on manual processes to connect email threads, supplier quotes, government solicitations, and ERP systems. This fragmented infrastructure forces them to choose between growth and operational efficiency—they can\'t scale without proportionally increasing headcount and have a hard time hiring anyone who is willing to spend all of their time jumping between emails, pdfs, spreadsheets, and data entry (in an outdated ERP).

SalesPatriot eliminates the operational constraints holding back America\'s defense industrial base. We replace fragmented manual processes with unified AI-powered infrastructure, transforming how contractors handle procurement workflows. Our mission : eliminate supply chain bottlenecks so critical defense components—from F-35 bearings to Blackhawk rotor hubs—can be procured in days instead of months, ensuring America\'s defense readiness isn\'t constrained by administrative delays.

Quick Facts :

• YC W25 company, top 5% growth in our batch
• Serving 1,231+ manufacturers with upper-6-figure ARR in 3 months (now at 1M ARR)
• Founded by 3 technical founders who don’t mess around - we value strong opinions and people who aren’t afraid to be wrong.
• The entire team is in our new headquarters in SF; we co-live (seriously). We move fast, we build fast, and we want people who thrive in the chaos.
• We’re not a cushy 9-5. We’re here to transform the American industrial sector and we need folks who share that get-stuff-done mentality — we work 10-15 hour days every day and don\'t get burnt out because we love it.

What you’ll work on

Build end-to-end : Fly out to Wisconsin, New York, or wherever our clients are located to embed with procurement teams manually juggling email threads, supplier databases, and government portals across multiple systems. Engineer custom automation on-site that immediately eliminates their daily frustrations, then collaborate with our platform team to scale these field-tested solutions across hundreds of manufacturers. Your real-time innovations become core product features. Transform operational wins into enterprise deals by crafting comprehensive business cases with concrete ROI data, earning buy-in from floor-level users to C-suite decision-makers through demonstrated results. Deploy end-to-end systems that don\'t just optimize existing processes — they fundamentally reimagine operational capacity, unlocking 10-100x efficiency gains that seemed impossible before SalesPatriot.

Ship daily : Turn client conversations into working code within hours. Spot a gap in their AS / 400 integration during a morning meeting, build the connector over lunch, and demo the solution that afternoon. Engineer custom workflows that transform complex government procurement processes into streamlined decision-making tools for time-sensitive defense contracts.

Full ownership : sales, customer satisfaction, front-end, back-end, devops—you’ll wear all the hats and solve all the problems.

Who you are

Full-stack (even beyond code) : Comfortable jumping between front-end, back-end, and navigating organizational politics—from earning trust with procurement specialists to understanding executive priorities and IT department constraints.

Personable : Clients trust you, like you, and genuinely look forward to your updates. You handle the conversation and the code.

Thrives on Intensity : slow, easy projects bore the hell out of you.

Scrappy / Problem Solver : you are not above rolling up your sleeves and doing boring tasks if that\'s what it takes. When facing larger problems, you won’t always know the answer — but you’ll work your ass off to find a solution.

Opinionated but intellectually honest : You speak up when something\’s off and stay open to being proven wrong.

On the Ground in SF : you’re ready to be here in person working at our HQ, building a solution that could reshape an entire industry.

Why Join?

True founding experience : Shape everything from culture to product roadmap to our next hires.

Meaningful equity : We’re building a rocket ship, and you’ll own a real chunk of it.

Direct impact : Your code will literally influence America\'s defense readiness, shape the supply chain, and help process billions of dollars in parts.

Rapid learning : We move fast, you learn fast, you’ll see the direct fruits of your labor every single day.

Team that pushes you : You’ll work alongside gritty, mission-driven teammates who bring the best out of each other. It’s intense, it’s fulfilling, and you’ll never want to go back to coasting.

What it’s going to be like

Honestly, it’s going to be a roller coaster. The ride is wild : pivoting on a dime, working late, dealing with unexpected fires.

Sure, you could take a cushy job at a big corp and collect a nice check. but there’s something addictive about the adrenaline of building something from scratch—something that directly impacts America and her allies and could reshape the entire defense industry.

To thrive here, you need to embrace our delusional optimism, where victories give us hope and failures make us want it even more. Yes, we work late, but you\'ll have a direct impact on everything we build.

If you’re up for some uncertainty, long hours, and occasional “what do we do now?” moments—but want the shot at building something insanely impactful—then let’s talk.

Who thrives here?

We want people who aren’t just technically sharp but also love pushing their limits—whether that means you\’ve launched a side hustle, tried an extreme sport, or pitched a crazy idea no one believed in. The common thread is you :

Chart your own path : you don’t care about the “right way” - you do it your way.

(smart) risk-taker : you try bold solutions, fail forward, and learn quickly.

Independence : most of the time, you will be writing code with zero or little spec - it’s up to you to figure out what needs to be done to deliver value, and to foresee potential problems

Relentlessness : You see obstacles as puzzles waiting to be solved.

Salary / Benefits :

120-150K

Medical (Partially paid)

PTO

401K pending

Note : AT SALESPATRIOT, WE’RE REDEFINING HOW MANUFACTURERS, ENGINEERS, AND SUPPLIERS DO BUSINESS. IT'S SCARY, IT’S THRILLING, AND WE FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE WE’RE CRAZY ENOUGH TO TAKE IT ON.

Don’t see your role? —Apply anyway. If you’re exceptional, we’ll figure out how to make room. Just reach out and show us what you bring to the table. Simple as that.

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