Senior Software Engineer, PubSec

About Ditto:

Ditto is redefining how data moves at the edge. Our mission is to make it seamless for developers to build resilient, real-time applications, regardless of network conditions. Whether you're in a stadium, airplane, or remote military base, Ditto's peer-to-peer sync engine ensures devices stay connected and data stays consistent, even without internet. With more than $145 million in funding and trusted by organizations like Chick-fil-A, Delta Airlines, and the U.S. military, Ditto powers mission-critical experiences across aviation, retail, travel, hospitality, defense, and more. As a globally distributed, fast-growing startup, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the wide range of perspectives needed to solve the world’s hardest connectivity problems.

About the Position

As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you are the technical tip of the spear. FDEs are elite, versatile engineers who work shoulder-to-shoulder with our most critical users to solve complex challenges in real time. Your primary mission is to radically decrease the time-to-value of our software by integrating it directly into the user's operational environment.

Because you see firsthand how our technology performs in the wild, you will also act as a crucial conduit, feeding technical insights and feature requirements back to our core product engineering team. This role requires a highly adaptable problem-solver who is comfortable moving fast, navigating ambiguity, and figuring things out quickly in high-stakes environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and Extend ATAK Plugins: Lead the design, development, and field deployment of custom ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit) plugins that integrate our platform's data synchronization capabilities directly into the warfighter's primary situational awareness tool.

• Build Android-Native Integrations: Architect and develop performant Android applications and services that run on tactical end-user devices, ensuring reliable operation in disconnected, intermittent, and low-bandwidth (DIL) environments.

• Design Integration Architectures: Own the end-to-end integration design between our platform and the broader TAK ecosystem, defining data contracts, API boundaries, and synchronization patterns that enable seamless interoperability with third-party systems and services.

• Solve Problems in Real-Time: Act as the first line of technical defense, rapidly diagnosing and resolving application, integration, and data-flow issues as they arise on end-user devices in live operational environments.

• Bridge the Gap: Translate the unique realities of mobile tactical software—device fragmentation, power constraints, user workflow requirements—into actionable technical requirements for the core product development team.

What You'll Need

• Clearance Requirement: Must hold an active Secret clearance (Due to federal security clearance requirements, U.S. Citizenship is strictly required for this role).

• 5+ years of experience in software engineering, including hands-on experience building, shipping, and maintaining production applications. You should be comfortable working across the full stack but possess deep strength in at least one area.

• 2+ years of technical experience with Android application development, including familiarity with the Android SDK, Kotlin and/or Java, and the practical challenges of building reliable software for diverse mobile hardware.

• Prior experience with ATAK plugin development or deep familiarity with the TAK ecosystem, including CoT messaging, TAK Server integration, and the plugin architecture.

• Strong integration design skills, including the ability to define clean API contracts, design data synchronization patterns, and architect loosely coupled systems that interoperate reliably across organizational and technical boundaries.

• A highly adaptable, problem-solving mindset, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, move fast, and balance immediate operational fixes with long-term technical fidelity.

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal. As the crucial bridge between the operational edge and our core development team, you must be able to translate complex, edge-case technical realities and user workflows into clear, actionable requirements for product engineers.

Nice to Haves

• Prior experience with CRDTs (Conflict-fre