Forward Deployed Engineer
About the job
Location: Hybrid (NYC) - Remote (United States)
Compensation: $149K - $185K
Our client is a high-growth technology organization building an advanced AI platform designed for enterprise operations and value creation in an AI-native world. Founded by experienced leaders in applied AI and mission-critical infrastructure, the organization leverages a proven track record of developing leading risk management and financial infrastructure that has processed trillions in volume. Backed by top-tier venture capital firms with over $65 million in funding, the company maintains an agile, elite team focused on solving technically ambitious problems. Operating with a culture centered on high-agency, talent-dense individual contributors, our client emphasizes high autonomy, meaningful ownership, and strong judgment over hierarchy.
They are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to own the technical customer journey and turn complex enterprise challenges into high-value, production-grade AI solutions. In this high-impact role, the successful candidate will bridge technical strategy and customer execution—partnering closely with product, sales, and engineering leaders to guide strategic clients from technical discovery through implementation, production rollout, adoption, and scaling.
Key Responsibilities
- End-to-End AI Deployments: Own strategic client engagements throughout the lifecycle, including technical discovery, scoping, architecture design, hands-on implementation, evaluation, production rollout, and long-term adoption
- Pre-Sales & Solution Architecture: Partner with the commercial team during pre-sales phases to lead technical discovery, design tailored AI solutions, and perform validation for high-value customer opportunities
- Post-Sales Technical Execution: Drive post-sales success by building and integrating production AI systems that transition clients from initial concept into full production environments
- Production AI Systems Engineering: Develop scalable AI applications utilizing modern large language models (LLMs), model APIs, tool calling, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), context management, structured outputs, and agentic workflows
- Product Optimization & Feedback Loops: Translate recurring customer insights into product enhancements—identifying cross-deployment patterns and developing reusable components, playbooks, tooling, and core product features
- Proactive Problem Solving: Identify operational and technical opportunities, formulate strong architectural points of view, and execute without requiring rigid direction
Requirements
Basic Qualifications
- Experience: 5+ years of experience as a Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Sales Engineer, Founding Engineer, or Product Engineer with significant end-to-end customer ownership
- Execution Track Record: Proven history of taking ambiguous client challenges from initial discovery through to production deployment and measurable business impact
- Technical & Commercial Judgment: Strong ability to evaluate trade-offs across client needs, product features, engineering complexity, cost, and latency
- Core Technical Stack: Proficiency with Python and/or Rust, React/TypeScript, SQL, APIs, system integrations, authentication protocols, cloud infrastructure, and production observability
- AI & LLM Expertise: Hands-on experience building AI-powered applications, including working with model APIs, context management, tool integration, retrieval architectures, model evaluation, and performance optimization
- Location & Work Style: Based in the United States or Europe for remote arrangements (NYC-based candidates will work in-office 2-3 days per week)
- High agency and comfort operating autonomously in fast-paced, ambiguous environments
Preferred Qualifications
- Travel Flexibility: Ability to travel up to 30% annually for in-person team collaboration and client engagements
- Communication: Exceptional written and verbal English communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical architecture to both technical and executive audiences
- Performance Tuning: Familiarity with profiling tools, optimization techniques, and low-latency system design
Benefits
- Competitive Total Compensation: Base salary range of $149,000 - $185,000, plus a competitive equity package aligned with performance and growth
- Career Advancement: Opportunity to play a foundational role within a rapidly growing global technology organization
- Workplace Flexibility: Remote options (US/Europe) or hybrid flexibility in New York City
Interview Process
- Initial Screening: Introductory conversation to align on background, experience, and role expectations
- Technical & Architectural Evaluation: Deep dive into software engineering fundamentals, AI systems architecture, and system design
- Behavioral & Scenario-Based Review: Practical discussion focused on client facing scenarios, technical trade-offs, and forward-deployed problem-solving
- Final Leadership Alignment: Conversations with key leadership stakeholders across Product, Sales, and Engineering
Due to the high volume of applications we anticipate, we regret that we are unable to provide individual feedback to all candidates. If you do not hear back from us within 4 weeks of your application, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion. We genuinely appreciate your interest and wish you the best in your job search.
Commitment to Equality and Accessibility
At MLabs, we are committed to offer equal opportunities to all candidates. We ensure no discrimination, accessible job adverts, and providing information in accessible formats. Our goal is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace with equal opportunities for all. If you need any reasonable adjustments during any part of the hiring process or you would like to see the job-advert in an accessible format please let us know at the earliest opportunity by emailing [email protected].
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