Founding Forward Deployed Engineer
About The Position
The Founding Forward Deployed Engineer will help scale a venture-backed technology company’s Applied AI business by building and deploying AI-powered solutions for enterprise B2B clients. The company works with a growing portfolio of eight or more mission-critical vertical SaaS businesses, developing customized software solutions and supporting enterprise deployments. This technically versatile, customer-focused role bridges business strategy and engineering. The engineer works directly with customers to understand operational challenges and turns them into production-ready AI workflows and software solutions, owning the deployment lifecycle from discovery and solution design through implementation, customer adoption, and ongoing maintenance. The role also develops shared data models, ontologies, and workflows that can make individual deployments reusable and productized across industry verticals. Working closely with the co-founders and Head of AI, the engineer will help define Applied AI strategy, establish deployment practices and technical standards, and build the Forward Deployed Engineering function.
Requirements
- Approximately 4–6 years of experience in forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, or another technical customer-facing role involving software or AI development and deployment for enterprise B2B clients.
- Experience working at a company with a strong Forward Deployed Engineering model, such as Palantir, Scale AI, or a comparable organization.
- Demonstrated ownership of a full technical deployment, from zero-to-one development through customer adoption and post-deployment maintenance.
- Strong technical versatility across system architecture, data pipelines, application development, and LLM application patterns.
- Hands-on experience building and deploying AI-powered applications or complex software solutions for enterprise customers.
- Ability to translate ambiguous business problems into technical requirements, system designs, and working solutions.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to work directly with senior executives and technical teams.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent technical expertise.
- Based in or willing to relocate to New York City or Chicago, and able to work on-site five days per week.
- Willingness to travel approximately 50% of the time and spend extended periods at customer locations when needed.
- Must already be authorized to work in the United States without requiring visa sponsorship or transfer.
Nice To Haves
- Experience at a top-tier Forward Deployed Engineering organization, such as Palantir, Scale AI, Ode, Brain Co., or a relevant Palantir spinout such as NorthSlope, Distyl AI, or Poetic.
- Experience as a founder or early employee at a startup, particularly a venture-backed or Y Combinator-backed company.
- Experience building shared data models, ontologies, or reusable software platforms across multiple enterprise customers.
- Experience implementing LLM-based applications, AI agents, and production-grade AI workflows.
- Familiarity with vertical SaaS business models and industry-specific software platforms.
- Experience working directly with C-level executives to identify business opportunities and drive technical implementation.
- Experience developing repeatable deployment frameworks that turn bespoke customer solutions into scalable products.
Responsibilities
- Work directly with enterprise customers and senior stakeholders to understand business challenges, identify AI adoption opportunities, and translate requirements into technical specifications.
- Design, develop, and deploy AI workflows and software applications using appropriate LLMs, data pipelines, system architecture, and full-stack engineering.
- Own the implementation lifecycle from discovery and zero-to-one development through production deployment, customer adoption, and ongoing maintenance.
- Spend time on-site with customers, engaging with C-level executives and operational teams to ensure solutions address business needs.
- Build shared ontologies, common data models, and workflows that connect customer deployments and enable repeatable, productized solutions across vertical SaaS businesses.
- Partner with the co-founders and Head of AI to define priorities, evaluate opportunities, and execute the company’s Applied AI strategy.
- Ensure deployed solutions deliver business value, improve operational workflows, and achieve sustained customer adoption.
- Establish deployment methodologies, technical standards, and customer engagement practices, and help grow the Forward Deployed Engineering team.
Benefits
- Competitive equity opportunity.
- Founding-level ownership and a foundational role in establishing and scaling the Forward Deployed Engineering function.
- Direct access to and collaboration with the co-founders and Head of AI to shape technical and business strategy.
- High-impact projects deploying AI solutions across a growing portfolio of enterprise software businesses and their customers.
- Influence over reusable AI infrastructure, deployment frameworks, and productized solutions across industries.
- Career growth through broad technical, customer-facing, and strategic responsibilities in a rapidly growing Applied AI business.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
