Maybe a Marshall?

Start with Colonist: Marshal, hands down. It's practically build to be exactly that.

The best way? Give him flaws. Noir is not so much about alcoholic detectives or gangsters, it's about flawed characters who get in over their heads. Typically, noir movies have bad endings for the protagonist.

But.. uh... I'll throw my trilby in with the Marshall class. Good combat class with a great bend towards social talents and skills. Though they shine better against another social character, perhaps the dame who's always getting you in trouble.

Marshal is the obvious choice.

Smuggler:Thief actually works well too. Don't get hung up on the name, the skills and talents fit the mold of a hardboiled PI a little better then the Marshal does.

And of course a combo of the two would probably get you the best of everything...

What movies are you thinking of?

I'm not sold on Marshal being the best choice. Some characters, such as Sam Spade, don't enjoy using guns. Good/Bad Cop relies on allies, but a lot of film Noir detectives are solo acts.

For a Sam Spade type character, I'd think about going Politico. You'll get plenty of skills and talents to smooth talk or coerce information out of someone. Scathing Tirade is great for shouting down your enemies. Quick wit and sharp barbs help you take down your enemies or get information.

For a Mike Hammer type character (Not quite film noir, but close enough) I'd think about going Enforcer. Lots of great talents for being the tough guy PI.

Scoundrel or Thief or Charmer wouldn't be bad either for sweet talking out the information or using other underhanded means to solving your cases. Sometimes the best evidence is what you can steal from your suspect's safe.

I was going to say Politico, but Jamwes has beaten me to it.

Well, um, Politico anyway.

I actually kind of like Enforcer myself for some of them.

And remember your Obligation and Motivation. Like Kaosoe said, noir characters are notoriously flawed. He should have Obligation: Addiction as a matter of course, probably with some Debt or Favour thrown in as well. His Motivation could include Independence, Out of the Game, Love or Former Nemesis, just to add some examples. A noir character isn't noir because of his stats, it's because of all that's "wrong" with him.

I was going to say Politico, but Jamwes has beaten me to it.

Well, um, Politico anyway.

Leave it to the guys with the Noir style Cthulhu avatars to be on the same page.

I actually kind of like Enforcer myself for some of them.

The more I look at Enforcer the more I like Enforcer as a Mike Hammer type tough guy PI and it makes me want to rebuild my first EotE character. My first was a Force Sensitive Exile Politico who used Influence (Control upgrade) to boost Scathing Tirade. (Didn't play long enough to get Sense Emotions too.) Never attacked with a weapon, just let my allies do my dirty work for me. This Enforcer character would get his hands dirty.

Enforcer's PI type skills are Coercion, Knowledge (Underworld), and Streetwise. What more do you need to be a gritty PI who solves cases through spit, gumption, and being tougher than the other guy? Talents like Intimidating and Fearsome make you a force who can scare the bad guys into giving you information. Talk the Talk lets you "know a guy" to know every Knowledge skill for the low price of a Destiny Point. Ranged (Light), Brawl, Melee round out your fighting. Athletics, Resilience, and Vigilance would also be great skills for the tough guy trope. Discipline for knowing when to keep your trap shut. Piloting (Planetary) so you can get around town and solve the crimes. Eventually take the Unmatched Protection signature ability to crank the tough guy feel up to eleven.

I'd mix in Politico for Charm and Deception, there are times when even a tough guy needs to lie to the bad guys (and cops "helping" him on the case) or sweep the dame off her feet. While you have them quaking in their boots with Fearsome you can Scathing Tirade them to do some (strain) damage and pile on more black dice. Other than Cool and Perception, I really can't think of any skills that you're really missing out on and buying a couple non-career ranks in those skills wouldn't be terrible. If it were me, I'd buy up obligation for extra starting XP and make a human with a 3 in Brawn, Agility, Presence, and Willpower. If you can't swing that, then to maintain the tough guy trope, I'd probably let Agility just be a 2 and just buy up Ranged (Light) or any other agility skills you might need. He's tough, not agile.

I think this would work until the Bounty Hunter book comes out. I'd bet that there will be a PI type of career in that book.

As for background, I'd make the character a grizzled war vet. Ever notice how it seems that everyone in Noir is either a tough guy or has a tough guy streak running in them? Noir was big in the mid-late 40's to early 50's. You know, just after WW2 where everyone was in the army and trained how to fight and kill. That's why every PI, bouncer, bartender, insurance salesman, ect knows how to fight and use guns. Seeing war molds a person and can harden their convictions. A hard boiled gritty PI has seen some stuff in their life. This is their motivation and why they fall on their Obligations, especially drinking.

As this is Star Wars, you could do an older character who fought in the Clone Wars. You could also do an ex-imperial who got sick of the system and struck out on their own. To use Mike Hammer as a template, he was a war vet who left being a cop to go private because the laws and system didn't fit is take on justice but yet still has at least one buddy cop who he can rely on for information when needed. Being an ex-Imperial could have the same setup. Still has that one "good guy" buddy on the inside that can be leaned on for information while giving limited information back in return. A PI doesn't get paid (as much) and an ego isn't fed if the cops catch the bad guy first.

This link to a Noir style slang dictionary might help get you in the mood for playing the character: Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang

https://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html

I hope this helps.

Bounty Hunter with Blade Runner spec.

Thanks for all the advice! I appreciate the thoughts about background being more important than Career. I'm probably going to go for Enforcer first, then pick up other trees as XP permits.