Location: San Francisco, CA
Work Model: In-person (occasional client travel ~1-2x/month)
Industry: AI transformation & implementation consulting
Compensation: $180K base, $220K-$500K+ OTE
The OpportunityAs a Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll be a post-sale, client-facing software engineer implementing AI solutions directly on each client's tech stack. You'll be paired with an AI strategist who owns relationship management and status updates, freeing you to focus on building, presenting, and shipping real solutions alongside the client.
This is a high-agency, high-upside role at an early and rapidly scaling company. You'll work across a range of tech stacks depending on the client, take on meaningful autonomy from day one, and grow into expanded scope over time, with clear paths toward senior engineering titles and engineering management as the team scales.
Responsibilities- Build, implement, and present AI solutions on clients' existing tech stacks in a post-sale, client-facing capacity
- Partner closely with an AI strategist who manages the client relationship, while you own the technical build and delivery
- Ship production software across the full stack in a collaborative team environment
- Lead technical initiatives and operate with a high degree of autonomy
- Occasionally support pre-sale scoping when needed (not a standard expectation)
- Travel to client sites roughly 1-2 times per month as required
Requirements- 3-8 years of software engineering experience
- Strong full-stack engineer comfortable shipping production software in a team
- Demonstrated experience designing, developing, and maintaining web applications and agentic applications
- Track record of leading technical initiatives and operating independently
- Client-facing experience strongly preferred and used as a differentiator among comparable candidates
- Backgrounds as a former founder, CTO, or founding engineer of a startup are highly valued, as is experience running an engineering-led AI consulting effort
- Computer science or engineering education is a plus
- Comfortable with an in-person, fast-paced environment and a willingness to put in effort beyond a standard week
