Forward Deployed Engineer

Buildkite

7h • $223,000 - $247,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Buildkite is hiring one of its first Forward Deployed Engineers to deliver scoped, hands-on engineering engagements for strategic customers running demanding CI/CD workloads. The engineer will work with customers from initial discovery and engagement design through implementation, delivery, and handoff. Customers pay for a defined outcome: the engineer identifies what they need, agrees on a deliverable and scope, builds production-quality code, and ensures the result works and becomes a supported part of the Buildkite platform.

The role is part of the Revenue organization, alongside Solutions Architects and Technical Account Managers, and works closely with customers and Sales as well as Product and the Engineering team in Australia. The position is based on the US West Coast and involves regular travel to customer sites, approximately 25%. As one of the first people in this function, the engineer will also help shape how engagements are scoped, valued, delivered, and handed off by learning from the initial work.

Buildkite provides a CI platform used by engineering teams to run builds, tests, and deployments on their own infrastructure, Buildkite's infrastructure, or both. The role is suited to an engineer who enjoys both building production software and working closely with customers, including large, established enterprises.

Requirements

• Have shipped production software end to end in recent years and been accountable for the code delivered.
• Meet the technical bar expected of Buildkite product engineers.
• Translate business needs into technical specifications and explain technical matters in business terms.
• Remain composed when interacting with frustrated customer executives.
• Be comfortable working with large, established enterprises, including structured evaluations and security reviews.
• Be able to scope vague requests into defined, shippable work, communicate boundaries, and manage new requests during an engagement.
• Prioritize solving the customer's problem over selling additional work or building something merely for its novelty.
• Exercise product judgment to distinguish customer-specific needs from needs that are likely to apply broadly.
• Want to build software while maintaining close customer relationships.
• Be willing to help establish a new function by delivering initial engagements and using what is learned to shape its playbook.
• Be willing to travel; on-site customer work is a core part of the role.

Nice To Haves

• Led or supported a migration from another CI/CD system.
• Was an early engineer at a developer tools, infrastructure, or B2B SaaS company, or worked in a forward deployed role.
• Worked inside or alongside the engineering organization of a growth-oriented SaaS company or large enterprise.
• Already uses Buildkite.

Responsibilities

• Work with Solutions Architects and Technical Account Managers to understand customer needs before deals close, identify gaps, and distinguish genuine customer problems from workarounds.
• Identify patterns across customer engagements and share them with Product so recurring needs can inform the roadmap.
• Define customer engagements with an agreed deliverable, estimate, and exit criteria, and manage the work within the agreed scope as new requests arise.
• Build core platform features as production-quality software to the same standard as Buildkite product engineering.
• Hand off completed work to Product and Engineering so that it becomes a supported part of the Buildkite platform and can benefit all customers.
• Help Solutions Architects and Account Executives identify potential Forward Deployed Engineer opportunities and explain the function to customers and colleagues.
• Deliver initial engagements and use lessons learned to help shape how the Forward Deployed Engineer function operates.
• Travel regularly to customer sites and work directly with customer engineering teams and executives.

Benefits

• 20 days of paid annual leave and 10 days of sick and carer's leave.
• Ongoing remote-work allowance.
• Retirement and health coverage, based on region.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave for primary carers and 6 weeks for secondary carers.
• Confidential employee assistance program and mental health support.
• Learning and growth support, including time and budget for conferences, courses, and coaching.
• Flexibility to work from anywhere in the world for up to 6 weeks per year.
• Base salary plus equity; no commission.
• Reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process.

What This Job Offers

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