Forward Deployed Software Engineer; FDE- Python

Imagine Your Future with Us! Since 1971, Paychex has been at the forefront of simplifying HR, payroll, and benefits for American businesses. Our digital HR technology and advisory solutions cater to the changing needs of employers and their employees. With our award‑winning training and endless opportunities for growth and development, you can build a lifelong career with us. We pride ourselves on fostering an inclusive and innovative culture.

Our leaders are here to support your career journey; they and our dedicated employees embody the values that drive us to support each other, our clients, and our communities. Join us to pursue your passion and unleash your potential.

We are seeking a Forward Deployed Software Engineer (FDE) who embeds directly with customers to implement, customize, and operationalize complex software, acting as a bridge between engineering and customer success by solving specific problems, unblocking integrations, and feeding insights back to product teams. The role combines technical skills with customer empathy and often involves travel to client sites. You will adapt core products to unique needs, accelerating adoption and delivering value in real‑world environments.

You will act as the senior technical lead for customizing and extending our embedded platform—owning integrations, API‑driven experiences, application‑layer enhancements, and customer solution delivery.

This role includes hands‑on development work across Python
, React
, AWS
, and Django
, as well as direct collaboration with customers, partners, and indirect channel teams to ensure successful adoption of our platform.

• Serve as the primary technical interface for customers, partners, and indirect channel teams.
• Host technical discussions, requirement‑gathering sessions, and architecture reviews directly with customers.
• Provide developer support, guidance, and best practices for integration and implementation.
• Represent the embedded team in developer‑facing demos, product enablement, and partner technical workshops.
• Translate customer needs into actionable engineering tasks, ensuring platform capabilities align with business goals.

• Lead the design and implementation of custom features, enhancements, and integrations across our platform.
• Develop application‑layer components and service extensions using Python
  , Django
  , and REST‑based APIs.
• Build and integrate customer‑facing portal/UI components in React
  .
• Leverage AWS services to build scalable, cloud‑backed integrations.

• Own the documentation and development of APIs, SDKs, and interface design documents (IDDs).
• Ensure seamless integration between on‑device components, microservices, and customer systems.

• Diagnose and resolve complex issues.
• Provide senior‑level technical escalation support for customers and internal teams.
• Lead root‑cause analysis and drive long‑term corrective improvements across the platform.

• Lead customer‑specific development initiatives from ideation through deployment.
• Own timelines, deliverables, and technical direction for customization projects.
• Mentor junior engineers and influence cross‑team engineering best practices.

• Bachelor's Degree in a computer‑related discipline or equivalent work experience.
• 7 years of experience in a related field or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Expertise in Python
  , with experience building backend services or integration layers (Django strongly preferred).
• Proficiency in React for developing customer‑facing interfaces or partner tools.
• Experience with AWS (Lambda, API Gateway, S3, Cloud Watch, IAM, or related services).
• Strong experience with embedded systems development.
• Experience with API design, interface documentation, and integration workflows.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to diverse audiences, including customers and indirect channel partners.
• Proven success in customer‑facing engineering, developer support,…