The RoleThe Forward Deployed Engineer is how Metal goes from a promising platform to software that lives inside how a firm actually runs its investment process. You will embed with one of our most strategic customers, a leading private capital firm, and own the last mile from scoping session to production system.
You sit at the intersection of a top-tier investment team and their AI evolution. You pair real engineering depth with customer empathy and a strong instinct for how AI reshapes an investment firm. You build the workflows, you integrate the systems, you own whether it actually works in production, and you translate what you learn on the ground into Metal's product direction.
This is a senior, high-autonomy role with real ownership. You carry one flagship account deeply and you are measured on outcomes the customer can see.
This is an in-person role. It requires regular time both on site at the customer's office and at Metal's office in Brooklyn, NY. You work shoulder to shoulder with the customer's teams, and just as closely with Metal's internal engineering team.
What You'll Do- Own deployment end to end. Take customer priorities from first scoping session through live, reliable production, including the human-in-the-loop steps that make workflows trustworthy.
- Build on the platform. Configure and ship high-impact workflows on Metal: CIM and teaser intake, deal scoring, LinkedIn account mapping, portfolio-company reporting, and pipeline views tailored to the firm.
- Integrate the customer's stack. Connect CRMs (Salesforce, DealCloud), document systems (SharePoint), and data sources so the platform reflects how the firm really works.
- Debug and operate. Diagnose data-model, integration, and workflow issues quickly, and keep deployed systems running as the firm's needs evolve.
- Earn trust at the top. Partner directly with the firm's internal AI, automation, deal, and operations leaders, and act as their trusted technical advisor.
- Feed the product. Turn first-hand field insight into clear product direction, influencing Metal's roadmap and turning what works into repeatable deployment frameworks.
Who You'll Work With- The customer's teams, day to day and on site at their office: their internal AI and automation lead, deal teams, and operating partners.
- Metal's internal engineering team, whom you partner with closely to build, integrate, and ship, from our Brooklyn office.
- Metal's founding team (CEO, CPO, and CTO), turning what you learn in the field into product direction.
What We're Looking For- You ship production software. 3 to 5+ years building and operating real systems end to end, from commit to live operation. Comfortable full-stack and unafraid of messy integrations.
- You build with AI, you don't just follow it. Hands-on experience shipping LLM-powered systems (agents, retrieval, evals), and fluency in a toolkit that changes every month.
- You do your best work close to the customer. You can earn executive trust, run a room, and stay hands-on from the first scoping call through go-live.
- Entrepreneurial mindset. You thrive in ambiguity, take initiative, and want to write the playbook others will follow.
- Bonus: depth in private equity, private credit, or financial services, where much of our current work lives.
Benefits & CompensationWe hire great people and reward them accordingly. For this role, you can expect:
- Base salary: $150,000 to $240,000 USD, depending on experience.
- Equity: 0.1% to 0.25%, meaningful early-stage ownership in Metal.
- Health benefits: comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
- Location: this is an in-person role. It requires regular time both at the customer's office and at Metal's office in Brooklyn, NY.
