Forward Deployment Engineer

Forward Deployment Engineer | Lead I - Software Engineering

This is a high‑impact role for an experienced engineer who has done the work before, thrives in ambiguity, and operates with little oversight. As one of the first FDEs, you won't just deploy solutions – you'll define how this team works: the playbooks, the standards, the tooling, and the bar for everyone who follows.

• Embed with internal teams and external customers to understand their workflows, pain points, and goals – then design and deploy solutions that fit.
• Build production‑quality code, integrations, and automations across AI/GenAI, data, and software platforms to solve concrete business problems.
• Prototype rapid prototypes and proofs‑of‑concept, iterate based on direct user feedback, and move them into reliable, scalable production.
• Integrate data pipelines, APIs, and third‑party systems, handling the real‑world messiness of enterprise environments.
• Partner with end users and stakeholders – running demos, gathering requirements, troubleshooting live, and translating technical concepts into business value.
• Feed recurring pain points and friction back to product and engineering teams to influence the core roadmap.
• Monitor and improve solutions for reliability, performance, and adoption after launch – you own outcomes, not just deliverables.
• Establish the playbooks, standards, and tooling for the FDE function, and mentor junior engineers as the team grows.

• 8+ years building and shipping software in production, including significant time owning complex, ambiguous projects end‑to‑end with minimal supervision.
• Deep, hands‑on programming expertise (e.g., Python, JavaScript/Type Script, Java, or Go), strong system design judgment, and fluency working across the full stack and with APIs.
• Proven experience with data tools (SQL, pipelines, warehouses such as Snowflake/Databricks) and/or AI/GenAI tooling (LLMs, RAG, agentic workflows).
• A track record of customer‑facing or forward‑deployed work – you've shipped solutions directly with end users, navigated enterprise complexity, and earned the trust of senior stakeholders.
• Leadership experience – you've led projects, set technical direction, and raised the bar for those around you.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; you translate fluidly between deep technical detail and executive‑level business value.
• Bias for action – you ship, learn, and iterate quickly at a high‑quality bar, and you bring order to ambiguous, fast‑moving situations.

• Experience deploying AI/ML or LLM‑based solutions in an enterprise setting.
• Cloud experience (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and familiarity with CI/CD and containerization.
• Experience as a founding or early member of a new team or function.
• Telecommunications or large‑scale enterprise data domain knowledge.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role

Washington

$75,000 – $113,000

Full‑time employees accrue a minimum of 10 days of paid vacation per year, 6 days of paid sick leave, 10 paid holidays, and are eligible for paid bereavement leave and jury duty. They are eligible to participate in the Company's 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching. Medical, dental, and vision insurance are available for employees and dependents living in the U.S. Additional benefits include basic life insurance, accidental death and disability insurance, short‑ and long‑term disability benefits, an optional Health Savings Account (HSA), a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for healthcare, dependent child care, and commuting expenses as allowable under IRS guidelines.

Benefits offerings vary in Puerto Rico.

UST is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other applicable characteristics protected by law. We will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.

UST reserves the right to periodically redefine your roles and responsibilities based on the requirements of the organization and/or your performance.