Founding Forward Deployed Engineer
Job Summary
We are seeking a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer to work directly with enterprise customers implementing AI agents in production environments. You will own customer accounts from initial scoping through deployment and ongoing optimization, while channeling field insights directly back to influence core product development. This high-impact role combines deep technical expertise with customer-facing responsibilities at a rapidly scaling AI company.
Essential Functions
- Embed with customers to map their onboarding, adoption, and renewal processes and identify highest-value applications for AI agents
- Deploy and configure customer agents by connecting to data sources such as BigQuery and Salesforce, implementing SSO, and integrating with existing systems
- Build evaluations using real customer data to validate agent performance and iteratively improve until production standards are met
- Partner with go-to-market teams to close, activate, and expand customer accounts by providing technical expertise during sales and implementation cycles
- Relay field learnings to the core product team and implement platform improvements when current capabilities create deployment friction
- Debug production deployments, perform root cause analysis on agent issues, and drive resolutions in live customer environments
- Own the smallest viable end-to-end implementation that demonstrates clear customer value, then systematically expand scope
Required Qualifications
- 2+ years software engineering experience with at least 1 year in a forward deployed or customer-facing engineering role at a top company or startup
- Proven experience shipping end-to-end AI or LLM features into production environments at a startup
- Strong Python skills with FastAPI for backend development and React for frontend work
- Experience working directly in customer environments on implementations, integrations, and troubleshooting
- Demonstrated high agency, comfort with ambiguity, and leadership potential
- Based in or willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area
- BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience demonstrated through production system delivery
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous experience as a founder or founding engineer at a high-growth, VC-backed startup
- 3-7 years in customer-facing software engineering, forward-deployed engineering, or solutions engineering roles
- Background that combines big tech experience with AI startup roles
- Track record of successfully managing technical implementations and customer accounts with zero major deployment issues
Technical Skills
- Python
- FastAPI
- React
- PostgreSQL
- Large Language Models (LLMs)
- Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)
- BigQuery
- CI/CD pipelines
- Agent frameworks
- Prompt engineering and evaluation techniques
Education & Certifications
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience demonstrated by successfully shipping production systems.
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary range of $180,000 to $230,000 plus meaningful equity. Compensation will be determined based on experience, skills, and location. As a founding team member, you will receive significant equity participation in the company's growth.