Forward Deployed Engineer

Location - New York City, NY (On-site)

Compensation - $200,000 – $300,000 Base + 0.1% – 0.75% Non-Dilutive Profit Interests with Anti-Dilution Protection

Visa - Open to Visa Sponsorship and Visa Transfers (OPT, H1B Transfers, New H1B, TN, J Visa)

Company Stage - Seed Stage – $5M Funding + Significant Acquisition Capital

Industry - Artificial Intelligence, Architecture, Engineering & Construction, Enterprise Software, AI Automation, B2B SaaS

About the Company

Our client is building an AI-native technology platform focused on transforming the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.

The company is developing software and AI systems for engineering firms that have historically been underserved by modern technology, with a focus on identifying high-value workflows and building solutions that automate complex operational and technical processes.

The company is backed by leading venture investors and significant acquisition capital, with a strategy centered around acquiring profitable engineering firms and embedding technology directly into their operations.

The team is extremely small, highly entrepreneurial, and engineering-focused, with engineers working directly alongside founders and operating with significant autonomy.

As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll work directly inside acquired engineering firms, sitting alongside users to understand their workflows, identify the highest-leverage problems, build software solutions, deploy them into production, and iterate based on real-world feedback.

This is a true forward-deployed engineering role — not solutions architecture or ticket-taking. You'll own the complete lifecycle from discovery through deployment and ongoing iteration while helping build a repeatable technology platform across acquired firms.

What You'll Do

• Embed directly on-site with acquired engineering firms to understand workflows, pain points, and operational challenges
• Build strong relationships with technical and non-technical users inside acquired organizations
• Identify the highest-leverage workflows that can be improved or automated through software and AI
• Own the complete deployment lifecycle from discovery through production deployment and iteration
• Run working sessions with users to understand requirements and identify opportunities
• Translate noisy and ambiguous user feedback into clear product and engineering decisions
• Design, build, deploy, and debug production software directly in customer environments
• Develop AI-powered workflows using LLMs, RAG systems, agent frameworks, and document processing
• Build integrations with engineering and enterprise software systems
• Develop full-stack applications and internal tools that solve real operational problems
• Own customer-facing technical projects independently from initial scoping through production
• Debug systems in production and iterate rapidly based on real user behavior
• Exercise strong product judgment around what to build, what not to build, and how to prioritize
• Own the user relationship and drive technical projects forward without extensive direction
• Collaborate closely with founders, design engineers, and platform engineering teams
• Feed lessons from customer deployments back into the broader platform
• Develop reusable tools, workflows, integrations, and technical patterns across acquired firms
• Help turn successful customer solutions into scalable platform capabilities
• Mentor and support more junior engineers as the engineering organization grows
• Operate with high ownership and urgency in zero-to-one environments
• Travel regularly to acquired engineering firms as required
• Contribute to the technical and product direction of the broader organization

Ideal Candidate Background

Experience Requirements

• 5–10 years of professional software engineering experience
• Strong experience in full-stack product engineering, forward-deployed engineering, or customer-facing engineering
• Demonstrated experience owning technical projects from discovery through production deployment
• Experience working directly with customers or end users
• Experience building and shipping production software
• Experience operating in early-stage startups or highly autonomous engineering environments
• Experience exercising product judgment in ambiguous environments
• Experience translating user problems into technical solutions
• Experience working directly with non-technical and technical stakeholders
• Experience building software in zero-to-one environments
• Experience operating independently without detailed specifications or established roadmaps
• Strong ownership mentality with demonstrated execution ability
• Experience mentoring or coaching junior engineers preferred
• Founder or entrepreneurial experience preferred
• Experience at a recognizable early-stage startup or strong technical educational background preferred

Technical Requirements

• Strong full-stack software engineering fundamentals
• Production experience with LLMs, RAG, agent frameworks, or document parsing
• Experience building AI-powered applications or workflows
• Experience with modern web application development
• Strong backend engineering fundamentals
• Experience designing and building APIs and integrations
• Experience deploying and operating production software
• Experience debugging production systems
• Experience with Python, Kotlin, or comparable backend languages
• Experience with Next.js or modern frontend frameworks preferred
• Experience with AWS, cloud infrastructure, or comparable platforms
• Experience with agent frameworks such as LangChain or LlamaIndex preferred
• Experience with OpenAI APIs or comparable LLM platforms
• Experience with document parsing or browser automation preferred
• Strong understanding of software architecture and system design
• Ability to build reliable production systems with minimal supervision
• Strong debugging and problem-solving capabilities
• Ability to quickly understand unfamiliar technical environments
• Experience working with enterprise software integrations preferred

Education

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical field preferred
• Strong computer science and software engineering fundamentals
• Equivalent practical engineering experience accepted
• Strong technical education from a recognized engineering or computer science program preferred

Soft Skills

• Exceptional engineering ownership
• Strong product intuition
• Excellent customer empathy
• High execution velocity
• Comfortable operating in extreme ambiguity
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong English fluency
• Comfortable speaking directly with customers and end users
• Strong ability to translate user problems into technical solutions
• Strong judgment around product prioritization
• Bias toward action
• Low-ego collaborative mentality
• Comfortable working independently
• Comfortable operating without detailed roadmaps or specifications
• Strong entrepreneurial mentality
• Founder mindset and high agency
• Comfortable mentoring junior engineers
• Strong relationship-building ability
• Patient and adaptable when working in unfamiliar environments
• Comfortable traveling frequently for customer deployments
• Strong desire to build products that directly impact users
• Comfortable working in a highly intense early-stage environment

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $200,000 – $300,000
• Non-Dilutive Profit Interests: 0.1% – 0.75%
• Anti-dilution protection on profit interests
• Opportunity to join an extremely early-stage, founder-led AI company
• Significant ownership over customer deployments and product outcomes
• Direct collaboration with founders and technical leadership
• Opportunity to build AI solutions for a massive underserved industry
• Work directly with real users and operating companies
• Opportunity to shape the company's technology platform from the ground up
• High ownership and entrepreneurial environment
• Opportunity to mentor and help build the engineering organization
• Fast-moving interview and decision process
• Visa sponsorship and transfer opportunities
• Opportunity to work across AI, software engineering, product, and customer deployment

Why Join

This is an opportunity to join an extremely early-stage AI company tackling a massive and largely underserved industry.

You'll work directly inside engineering firms, sitting alongside users and identifying the highest-leverage opportunities for AI and software automation.

Unlike traditional solutions engineering roles, you'll actually build and own the software — from discovery and product definition through deployment, debugging, and iteration with real users.

As one of the earliest members of the engineering organization, you'll have significant influence over product direction, technical architecture, customer relationships, and the systems that will eventually scale across multiple acquired firms.

If you enjoy building from scratch, working directly with customers, exercising product judgment, shipping production software quickly, and operating with founder-level ownership, this role offers exceptional technical and entrepreneurial impact.