Staff Forward Deployed Engineer, AI Sim

SandboxAQ

22h

About The Position

As a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) within our AI Simulation group, you will act as the primary technical bridge between our core Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and our most ambitious client contracts. This is a high-agency "builder" role designed for a resourceful generalist who thrives on autonomy and is passionate about tackling the hardest challenges in drug discovery and chemical simulation. You will be embedded directly with scientific delivery teams, operating at the frontiers of knowledge where fundamental research converges with practical, real-world impact.
Your central purpose is to ensure the technical enablement and success of our most critical partnerships. You will be expected to independently discern complex bottlenecks, architect custom solutions, and orchestrate compute at scale. Whether you are wrapping scientific application logic, managing massive data transformations, or integrating with Agentic systems, you will own the entire lifecycle of your deployments. This role demands a "startup" mindset: the seniority to lead a project's technical vision and the humility to execute any task necessary to move the mission forward.

Requirements

• 7+ years of professional software development experience, with deep proficiency in Python and modern architectural patterns.
• Proven ability to operate independently in high-ambiguity environments, moving from ideation to functional code with high velocity.
• Hands-on experience with cloud orchestration (Kubernetes, Batch systems) and workflow management tools like Airflow.
• Technical expertise in building REST APIs, managing database systems (ORMs, schemas), and utilizing Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a track record of shipping systems in fast-moving, customer-facing environments.

Nice To Haves

• Domain expertise in drug discovery, cheminformatics, or advanced materials.
• Experience delivering scientific code for R&D projects involving simulation or numerical optimization.
• Familiarity with High-Performance Computing (HPC), GPU programming, and optimization.
• Exposure to AI applications involving knowledge graphs, AI agents, or multi-agent systems.

Responsibilities

• Orchestrate Technical Delivery: Partner with scientific teams to audit workflows, diagnose technical blockers, and take full accountability for the end-to-end technical execution of client contracts.
• Architect and Develop Solutions: Design and deploy high-velocity code to extend existing tools, or build new frameworks for wrapping scientific logic and automating complex R&D workflows.
• Drive Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as the technical translator between non-technical researchers and product teams, validating proposed solutions and ensuring they meet rigorous scientific requirements.
• Scale and Optimize Infrastructure: Own the deployment and maintenance of cloud-based compute resources and data pipelines, ensuring stability and performance throughout the contract lifecycle.
• Pioneer Technical Integration: Lead the integration of internal core technologies, such as LQMs and Agentic systems, into bespoke client environments to solve major scientific challenges.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents with generous employer premium contributions, retirement savings with company matching, paid parental leave, and inclusive family-building benefits.
• Flexible paid time off, company-wide seasonal breaks, and support for flexible work arrangements that enable sustainable performance.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and growth through on-the-job development, cross-functional collaboration, and access to internal learning and development programs.

What This Job Offers

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