Forward Deployed Engineer

Role highlights:

• Job Title: Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

• Location: Customer location (e.g. Netherlands) with flex to travel to Espoo initially for training, and regularly later as needed

• Employment Type: Permanent

• Work Arrangement: Office-based during training and kickoff, then extended field deployment

Who are we?

ICEYE is the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operations for Earth Observation, persistent monitoring, and natural catastrophe solutions; owning and operating the world's largest SAR constellation. ICEYE is headquartered in Finland and operates from five international locations with more than 900 employees from nearly 60 countries, inspired by the shared vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation.

Our satellites acquire images of Earth at any time – even when it’s cloudy or dark – providing commercial and government partners with unmatched persistent monitoring capabilities. Information derived from our SAR images helps customers make data-driven decisions to address time-critical challenges in various sectors, such as maritime, disaster management, insurance, and finance.

Our team is a tight-knit group of experts across many disciplines (e.g., engineering, software development, radar technology, etc.). We’re innovative, driven people who strive for excellence in everything we do. Teamwork, curiosity, and having fun are core values at ICEYE, and contribute to Making the Impossible possible!!

Why should you work for us?

ICEYE is at the cutting edge of new technology and we are continuing to build and operate our commercial constellation of SAR satellites. Working with ICEYE, you will be part of making the impossible possible, whilst shaping the Earth Observation industry. You will work with varied, diverse and engaged colleagues to further the ICEYE mission. At ICEYE we realise that without great people we can not succeed, therefore you will be an integral, valued and appreciated colleague, with the ability to directly shape the vision and direction of the business. 

We actively support Continuous Professional Development, and will provide access to a range of avenues to allow you to succeed, including courses, training and attendance at conferences. ICEYE is a place where your development, your growth and your success is a priority. 

What will you do in this role? 

ICEYE FDE’s are embedded within strategic key customers’ teams to deliver near-real-time intelligence capabilities building on SAR, and in the future other EO and RF sensor data. You will maximize customer value by building field-ready solutions, integrating tools into live environments, and driving systems through replenishment planning and system expansion and renewal initiatives. You will act as the technical bridge between ICEYE’s product and engineering teams and the customer.

Daily tasks will include:

• Collect feedback on any initial issues, incident and bugs and enable fast resolution through ICEYE customer support tiers and teams

• Develop solutions to well-defined customer problems in ICEYE applications

• Deploy and configure ICEYE applications in customer operational environments

• Prototype lightweight tools or integrations with customer platforms, GIS tools, or alerting systems

• Train and support customer analysts, operators, and mission planners

• Monitor mission usage, revisit needs, and satellite aging to proactively trigger replenishment and expansion planning

• Support customer teams as a technical co-owner in requirements gathering, and technical evaluations

• Provide feedback and operational insights to ICEYE Product management, and Engineering to inform roadmap development

Key dimensions of performance

• Customer value creation - Mission outcome acceleration and expansion

• Customer interaction - High, embedded with a strategic customer team

• Technical depth - Ability to work across SAR data, cloud, API layers to design and build workflows and integrations

• Product feedback - Directly influences our product roadmap

Requirements

What you need to be successful in this role:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent practical experience)

• Proficiency in Python, RESTful APIs, and cloud platform architectures

• Familiarity with EO data formats (GeoTIFF, STANAG, HDF5) and GIS tools (ArcGIS, QGIS, ATAK), and satellite simulation tools (Savoir, STK)

• Ability to rapidly build data pipelines, simple dashboards, or alerts

• Hands-on experience with satellite tasking workflows and mission planning

• Strong communication skills and ability to thrive in high-pressure, ambiguous environments

• Willingness to travel and embed with a local customer team

In addition to the above, it would be beneficial if you had the below attributes and skills: 

• Hand-on ISR operations experience or background in defense, disaster response, or civil security operations

• Experience with SAR and/or optical data tasking workflows and EO missions

• Previous roles in front-line engineering, mission management, satellite operations or technical customer support

• Experience working in classified environments

• Knowledge of ICEYE’s tech stack, and software

Benefits

What do we offer?

• A job that matters in a dynamic Earth Observation environment with a scale-up approach

• An independent role with a supportive and diverse work environment

• Time for self-development, research, training, conferences, or certification schemes

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

At ICEYE, we believe that diversity isn't just a buzzword – it's our greatest asset. 

We're committed to fostering an inclusive environment where every voice is not only heard but celebrated. We know that diverse perspectives breed innovation and creativity, which is why we actively seek out individuals from all walks of life, backgrounds, and experiences. 

Whatever your background, we want you to bring your authentic self to the table. Join us and be part of a team where differences are not only embraced but cherished, because together, we're stronger. 

Apply now to start your ICEYE journey, and help us continue to make the impossible possible together. Read more about ICEYE and working with us at iceye.com