Kaizen Labs
0 open Forward Deployed Engineer roles at Kaizen Labs, plus 1 closed. Curated with comp bands.
On the board since Aug 2026 · no roles open right now
Our take
Why Kaizen Labs
A rare cleared FDE seat that isn't at Palantir — you're the integration muscle on the Foundry/AIP/Maven stack inside classification constraints, and the TS/SCI gate is what opens the comp.
- FDE type
- True forward-deployed
- Travel
- Medium
- Comp
- Competitive
- Stage
- Growth-stage
A good fit if you're…
- Cleared engineers who want Palantir-stack deployment work without joining Palantir
- Full-stack builders (React/Node/Postgres) comfortable inside classification constraints
- People who want a govtech mission with startup ownership, not a mature playbook
- Candidates whose active TS/SCI clearance is their real leverage on comp
What Kaizen actually builds
Kaizen Labs is a New York govtech startup, founded in 2022, building AI-native software that replaces legacy government systems on the resident-facing side: intake flows, permits, licenses, payments and park passes. Co-founder KJ Shah frames it as 'resident services' rather than back-office or intergovernmental tooling. It works with 50+ agencies across 17 states, with recent wins including Maricopa, San Bernardino and Suffolk counties and the Cherokee Nation.
The cleared seat and the Palantir stack
The Forward Deployed Software Engineer (Cleared) role has you building full-stack product surfaces — intelligent intake, real-time constituent assistants, automated case routing, operator dashboards — and integrating against Palantir Foundry ontologies and pipelines, AIP agents and the Maven Smart System. The stack is React/Next.js and Node/TypeScript/Postgres on AWS. It's the Palantir deployment motion, run at a smaller, faster shop where one engineer sees the whole system.
'Forward deployed' means inside the classification boundary
You deploy within classification constraints, not around them: production systems for cleared customers, with direct federal-stakeholder engagement rather than a layer of account managers between you and the agency. At a company this size the FDE owns integration end-to-end and helps define the deployment motion, rather than inheriting a mature, documented playbook the way a Palantir FDE would.
Comp and the clearance premium
Base opens at $220K–$280K plus equity — strong for a company at this stage. The reason is the gate: an active Top Secret / TS/SCI clearance and US citizenship are scarcer than the React/Node skill set, so the clearance is doing real work in that number. It's hybrid out of the NYC HQ or the DC office, Tuesday–Thursday in-office, so travel is medium rather than road-warrior.
Funded, growing fast, aimed at federal
Kaizen raised a $21M Series A in October 2025 led by NEA, with Andreessen Horowitz, 776, Accel and Carpenter Capital — about $35M in total funding. It says its customer base has grown more than tenfold since 2024 and ARR ninefold, and it's expanding headcount from roughly 30 to 50 with explicit pushes into DMVs, courts and the federal government. The cleared seat is part of that federal bet.
Who thrives, and who bounces
Thrives: a cleared full-stack engineer who wants mission-driven govtech, broad ownership, and the leverage a clearance gives on both comp and the seats open to them. Bounces: anyone wanting fully-remote work, a large engineering peer group, or a company past growth-stage risk — about $35M raised is still early relative to the federal ambition, and the upside rides on that bet paying off.
Questions candidates ask
Do I really need a clearance?
Yes — this specific seat requires an active Top Secret / TS/SCI clearance and US citizenship. That gate is also why base opens at $220K–$280K; the clearance is scarcer than the stack.
How is this different from working at Palantir?
You build on the same stack (Foundry, AIP, Maven Smart System) but at a ~50-person startup, owning integration end-to-end and helping define the motion rather than slotting into a mature deployment playbook.
Is it remote?
No — it's hybrid, Tuesday–Thursday in-office out of the NYC HQ or the DC office. Travel is medium.
How stable is the company?
Series-A stage (about $35M total, NEA/a16z-backed), founded 2022, growing fast (ARR up ~9x since 2024) but still early relative to its federal ambitions — growth-stage risk applies.
Analysis updated 2026-10-27
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