Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - NYC
About The Position
OpenAI’s Forward Deployed Engineering team partners with customers to turn research breakthroughs into production systems, working at the intersection of customer delivery and core platform development. Forward Deployed Engineers lead complex, end-to-end deployments of frontier models in production alongside strategic customers, owning discovery, technical scoping, system design, building, and production rollout in partnership with customer engineering and domain teams. Success is measured through production adoption, measurable workflow impact, and evaluation-driven feedback that informs product and model roadmaps. The role collaborates closely with Product, Research, Partnerships, GRC, Security, and GTM teams. It is based in New York under a hybrid model requiring three days in the office each week, with travel up to 50% and relocation assistance offered.
Requirements
- At least 5 years of engineering or technical deployment experience, including customer-facing work.
- Experience scoping and delivering complex systems in fast-moving or ambiguous environments.
- Ability to write and review production-grade frontend and backend code using Python, JavaScript, or comparable stacks.
- Experience building or deploying systems powered by LLMs or generative models, with an understanding of how model behavior affects product experience.
- Ability to simplify complexity and make fast, sound decisions under pressure.
- Clear communication with engineers, product teams, and customer stakeholders.
- Ability to identify risks early and adjust without slowing progress.
- Calm judgment in high-stakes situations.
Responsibilities
- Own technical delivery across multiple deployments, from initial prototype through stable production.
- Build full-stack systems that deliver customer value and improve how the team learns.
- Work closely with customer teams to understand their needs and guide adoption of built solutions.
- Scope work, sequence delivery, and remove blockers early.
- Make trade-offs among scope, speed, and quality, adjusting plans to protect delivery.
- Contribute directly to code when progress or clarity depends on it.
- Codify working patterns into tools, playbooks, or reusable building blocks.
- Share field feedback with Research and Product about where models succeed and where they can improve.
- Keep teams moving through clarity and follow-through.
Benefits
- Relocation assistance
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
