Forward Deployed Engineer - Cleared - US
About The Position
The Forward Deployed Engineer serves as a technical lead on high-stakes, ambiguous customer deployments, owning technical and business value outcomes end to end. The role sets standards for customer engagement and technology deployment while helping establish the foundation for OpenAI Deployment. The engineer will ramp toward management responsibilities, help grow a team capable of delivering under pressure, and shape how AI is applied to real-world challenges and how the team organizes to deliver impact. The role partners closely with OpenAI’s core functions so field work can inform roadmap priorities, spur exploration, and support safe deployment at scale. For cleared engagements, the engineer builds within customer-approved environments and accounts for restrictions on data, connectivity, tooling, and access. They work with the Technical Deployment Lead and customer engineers to establish a feasible path from prototype to a system the customer can operate. The position is based in Washington, D.C., New York, or San Francisco, with other locations potentially considered case by case based on customer needs, access requirements, and ability to work onsite. It uses a hybrid work model with three days per week in the office, may require access to secure facilities, and involves up to 50% travel. Relocation assistance is offered.
Requirements
- At least 4 years of engineering experience.
- Experience building production frontend and backend systems in JavaScript or Python.
- An active U.S. government security clearance; candidates must be able to maintain their clearance and obtain customer-specific access.
- Ability to ship ambiguous projects, make sound decisions about reuse versus customization, and remain calm and clear in decision-making.
- Ability to strengthen teams, earn trust, and turn customer learning into product feedback.
- Experience building or integrating software in environments with restricted access, connectivity, or data handling.
- Ability to diagnose deployment problems with limited tooling and collaborate effectively with cleared customer teams.
Nice To Haves
- TS/SCI clearance with polygraph.
Responsibilities
- Lead technical engagements end to end, delivering quickly with sound engineering judgment.
- Build reusable deployment capabilities and guide implementation strategy.
- Coach teammates, capture repeatable practices, and escalate emerging customer or product issues.
- Design integrations that respect the target environment’s access boundaries and approved data flows.
- Evaluate AI behavior using permitted datasets, and develop appropriate testing, observability, and human review for the customer workflow.
- Partner with customer security and infrastructure teams on environment readiness, release procedures, and operational handoff.
- Share reusable lessons through approved channels while keeping customer-sensitive details within their authorized boundaries.
- Help grow a team and ramp toward management responsibilities.
- Partner with OpenAI’s core functions so field work informs roadmap priorities, new exploration, and safe deployment at scale.
Benefits
- Relocation assistance
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
