Modsquad

Forward Deployed Engineer

Modsquad$90K — $130K *
US-Anywhere
+ 14 other locationsRemote
Enterprise Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7+ years in technical implementation, solutions engineering, or consulting, particularly in high-stakes client environments.
  • Proven experience with building and deploying production-grade AI systems, not just proofs of concept.
  • Deep understanding of AI deployment patterns, including prompt engineering and agent orchestration.
  • Strong integration and API skills, particularly in undocumented environments.
  • Consulting instinct to identify core problems beyond the surface issues.
  • Outstanding communication skills for diverse audience engagement.
  • Experience ensuring successful operation of shipped products in large organizations.
  • High emotional intelligence, personal accountability, and adaptability.

Responsibilities

  • Embed with high-complexity client accounts to design and build AI systems for real-world implementation.
  • Conduct thorough discovery to map workflows, identify friction points, and assess the organizational landscape.
  • Develop and implement production-grade AI architectures, including evaluation and governance frameworks.
  • Navigate complex challenges such as legacy systems and compliance hurdles to achieve deployment success.
  • Document deployment playbooks for future engagements, elevating standards for subsequent projects.
  • Collaborate with the Solutions Engineering team to inform architectural standards based on field intelligence.
  • Travel to client sites as necessary for in-person engagements.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work directly with high-stakes clients and tackle complex challenges.
  • Engage in a role that combines engineering, consulting, and product management.
  • Access to ongoing learning and development through varied client interactions.
  • A chance to shape the deployment processes and standards for future projects.
Full Job Description
Forward Deployed Engineer

The demo worked. Now the real work starts. That's where you live.

The Job

Forward Deployed Engineers operate where the standard implementation playbook breaks — and they don't just fix it, they write the next one. You embed directly with clients to take complex AI systems from struggling pilot to production-grade capability. Your engagements involve custom agentic architectures, legacy systems that weren't designed for this, change-resistant organizations, and real stakes.

This is part engineering, part consulting, part product management. You live in the gap between "this should be possible" and "this is running in production." Most people find that gap uncomfortable. You find it interesting.

What You'll Do
  • Embed with a small portfolio of high-complexity client accounts — designing, building, and deploying AI systems that work in their real environment, not a demo.

  • Run deep discovery: map actual workflows, identify real friction, and understand the organizational and technical landscape before a single line of configuration is written.

  • Build production-grade agentic systems — multi-step AI workflows, tool-calling architectures, evaluation frameworks, and the human-in-the-loop structures that keep them governed.

  • Navigate real complexity: legacy systems, undocumented infrastructure, compliance requirements, and change management challenges — the things that stall lesser engagements.

  • Build deployment playbooks from your engagements — documenting what good looks like so every subsequent deployment starts from a higher floor.

  • Partner with the broader Solutions Engineering team to bring field intelligence back to architectural standards and tooling choices.

  • Travel to client sites as the work requires — this role may involve meaningful in-person time with clients.


Who You Are

  • 5–7+ years in technical implementation, solutions engineering, or consulting — with significant experience in complex, high-stakes client environments.

  • Proven experience building and deploying agentic AI systems in production — not pilots or proofs of concept, but things that ran, were used, and were maintained.

  • Deep fluency with AI deployment patterns — prompt engineering, agent orchestration, evaluation frameworks, observability, and guardrails.

  • Strong integration and API skills — you've worked in messy, undocumented environments and made things work anyway.

  • The consulting instinct to find the real problem before solving the stated one — and the credibility to tell a senior client when they're solving the wrong problem.

  • Outstanding communication skills — you can run a working session with front-line staff in the morning and present deployment architecture to a CTO in the afternoon.

  • Experience shipping something inside a large organization and staying to see it operate — you understand the last mile of deployment, not just the build.

  • Comfort with ambiguity — you make sound calls without a complete picture and document what you learn when you get one.

  • High EQ, personal accountability, and a sense of humor. You thrive in ambiguous, high-stakes, fast-moving environments.


Ready to Join?

This role isn't for everyone — and that's the point. If you're the person who gets called in when the standard approach isn't enough, we'd like to talk.

About Modsquad

ModSquad is a global provider of on-demand digital engagement services. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. ModSquad offers a range of services, including customer support, content moderation, community management, and social media management. The company uses a network of over 10,000 freelance experts to provide these services, allowing clients to scale their operations quickly and efficiently. ModSquad has worked with a variety of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, startups, and non-profit organizations. The company is committed to providing high-quality services and has won several awards for its work.
Learn more about Modsquad
Size
1,000 employees
Industry

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