Forward Deployed Engineer

Sourcedirect Talent • Denver, CO

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

Our client is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to accelerate the application of AI in real-world environments by embedding with customers and partners to deliver high-impact deployments that drive measurable value. In this role, you will own end-to-end delivery of customer outcomes using advanced AI and edge technologies—working across hardware, networking, sensors, data systems, and AI. You will integrate deeply into customer environments to compress adoption cycles, iterate based on real needs, and capture product insights that improve future deployments. This role operates at the edge of the platform rather than inside its core. You will have significant ownership over field deployment and configuration decisions within established execution and release processes. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role with 25–50% travel for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments and wants to build and deploy the infrastructure that enables real-world AI.

Requirements

• 5+ years building and operating production software or systems, ideally in customer-facing or delivery roles
• Experience working across infrastructure, networking, security, data systems, and/or production AI
• Examples: Linux, Docker/Kubernetes, REST/gRPC APIs, observability tooling
• Strong engineering fundamentals with clean implementations and thoughtful system design
• Languages such as Python and/or Go; shell scripting
• Comfortable working in ambiguity and making pragmatic trade-offs under real constraints
• Clear communicator and strong cross-functional collaborator
• Ownership mindset focused on delivery, adoption, and customer value

Nice To Haves

• Delivering complex deployments end-to-end and turning one-off wins into repeatable patterns
• Hands-on experience with edge or hybrid systems (hardware, networking, connectivity, containerized environments)
• Examples: VPNs, TLS, firewalls, LTE/5G/Wi-Fi, Kubernetes
• Deep experience diagnosing cross-stack production issues (logs, metrics, traces, packet capture, performance profiling)
• Production experience applying modern AI systems (LLMs, agents, inference) in real workflows
• Experience embedding with customer and partner engineering teams to drive measurable outcomes

Responsibilities

• Own the design, deployment, and iteration of customer solutions from initial problem definition through production rollout and expansion
• Deliver measurable outcomes by traveling to customer sites 25–50% of the time and working closely with customer and partner teams
• Deploy and operate the platform in real environments across edge hardware, networking, connectivity, sensors, data flows, and AI inference
• Build integrations and tooling connecting customer OT/IT systems, data sources, and workflows into production applications
• Diagnose issues across the full stack (hardware → network → data → application → AI) and resolve production challenges quickly
• Capture deployment learnings and translate them into repeatable playbooks, scalable patterns, and product feedback
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate drafts, implementations, and artifacts while applying strong engineering judgment
• Communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders and lead working sessions that drive execution

Benefits

• Base salary range: $145,000–$200,000 (based on location and experience)
• Meaningful equity participation
• Comprehensive benefits package, which may include medical, dental, vision, retirement plan with company match, flexible PTO, parental leave, commuter benefits, and relocation or visa support where applicable

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed