About the RolePelico is building its Forward Deployed Engineers team - hands-on builders at the intersection of data engineering, AI-driven automation, and customer problem-solving. As Lead Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll work directly with Pelico's leadership and senior executives at our largest enterprise customers, designing and delivering mission-critical AI systems that sit at the core of aerospace and advanced manufacturing operations, and turning AI capabilities into measurable, repeatable operational outcomes.
What You'll Do- Lead complex enterprise deployments from scoping to production
- Build and ship production-grade AI and data systems (Java, Python, SQL, cloud)
- Stand up modern data stacks, architect scalable data pipelines, and deploy AI-powered agents that reshape how operations teams work
- Integrate with ERP, MES, PLM, and broader industrial ecosystems
- Translate operational ambiguity into structured execution, engaging directly with enterprise customers from your first weeks
- Formalize best practices and scale the Forward Deployed function
About You- 5+ years in Data, Software, ML, or Forward Deployed roles, ideally customer-facing
- Strong end-to-end data skills: ingestion to production (Python, SQL, Snowflake/DBT/Airflow, AWS)
- Comfortable with complex enterprise data (ERP, supply chain, manufacturing)
- Clear communicator with strong business acumen - autonomous, scrappy, and effective in fast-moving startup environments
- Proven experience scaling initiatives and leading high-performing teams
- You actively embrace AI tools as part of how you work - curious about what's possible and quick to adopt new ways of working smarter and faster.
- Hands-on experience with AI-assisted workflows - whether for writing, research, analysis, coding, or productivity - and a genuine interest in staying at the frontier of what these tools can do.
- (Nice-to-have) Strong solution-framing skills, taking a customer need or issue end-to-end to a clear execution plan
- (Nice-to-have) Systems thinker with a strong ownership and execution mindset
Why PelicoWe're building something genuinely hard and genuinely important. Here's what that comes with:
- Meaningful equity - you're building this with us, so you'll own a piece of it
- Competitive salary benchmarked to your market
- Flexible, hybrid work model - we care about output, not face time
- Health, dental, and vision coverage
- Learning & development budget - we invest in people who invest in themselves
- Opportunity to work with some of the world's most complex and fascinating manufacturing operations
- A team that takes the work seriously without taking themselves too seriously
- Miami office with a modern workspace, remote flexibility, 401(k) with company match, and direct work with world-class aerospace and manufacturing customers
