Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

We're helping a venture-backed technology company find a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer to help scale its Applied AI business from the ground up. The company works with a growing portfolio of eight or more mission-critical vertical SaaS businesses, helping them unlock the value of AI through customized software solutions and enterprise deployments.

This is a founding opportunity for a technically versatile, customer-focused engineer who wants to work directly with company leadership, own end-to-end AI deployments, and help shape how AI is implemented across entire industries. You'll have significant ownership from day one and play a foundational role in building the Forward Deployed Engineering function.

We are seeking a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer with approximately 4–6 years of experience in forward deployed engineering or technical customer-facing roles to build and deploy AI-powered solutions for enterprise B2B clients.

In this role, you'll bridge business strategy and engineering, working directly with customers to understand complex operational challenges and turn them into production-ready AI workflows and software solutions. You'll own the entire deployment lifecycle, from initial discovery and solution design through implementation, customer adoption, and ongoing maintenance.

You'll also help develop shared data models, ontologies, and workflows that transform individual customer deployments into reusable, productized solutions across industry verticals.

Working closely with the co-founders and Head of AI, you'll help define the company's Applied AI strategy and establish the practices that will shape its growing engineering team.

• Lead customer discovery: Work directly with enterprise customers and senior stakeholders to understand business challenges, identify opportunities for AI adoption, and translate requirements into technical specifications.
• Build AI-powered solutions: Design, develop, and deploy AI workflows and software applications from scratch, using the right combination of LLMs, data pipelines, system architecture, and full-stack engineering.
• Own end-to-end deployments: Manage the full implementation lifecycle, from initial discovery and zero-to-one development through production deployment, customer adoption, and ongoing maintenance.
• Work closely with customers: Spend time on-site with customers, including engaging with C-level executives and operational teams to ensure solutions address real business needs.
• Develop reusable AI infrastructure: Build shared ontologies, common data models, and workflows that connect customer deployments and enable repeatable, productized solutions across vertical SaaS businesses.
• Shape AI strategy: Partner directly with the co-founders and Head of AI to define priorities, evaluate opportunities, and execute the company's Applied AI strategy.
• Drive measurable impact: Ensure deployed solutions deliver meaningful business value, improve operational workflows, and achieve sustained customer adoption.
• Help build the FDE function: Establish deployment methodologies, technical standards, and customer engagement practices while helping grow the Forward Deployed Engineering team.

• Approximately 4–6 years of experience in forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, or other technical customer-facing roles involving the development and deployment of software or AI solutions for enterprise B2B clients.
• Experience working at a company with a strong Forward Deployed Engineering model, such as Palantir, Scale AI, or a comparable organization.
• Demonstrated ownership of a full technical deployment, from initial zero-to-one development through customer adoption and post-deployment…