Forward Deployed AI Engineer

Forward-Deployed AI Engineer | Help Build AI-Native Software Companies
Have you built real AI products, but found yourself just as interested in helping other engineers figure out how to build them? Do you enjoy solving ambiguous technical problems, working directly with CTOs, and turning AI ambition into production reality? If you want to influence multiple engineering organisations rather than just one, this is a rare opportunity to do exactly that.
A leading growth investment firm is looking for a Forward-Deployed AI Engineer to work alongside CTOs and engineering leaders across a portfolio of ambitious software companies, helping them become truly AI-native. You'll combine hands-on engineering with technical advisory work, building production systems where needed whilst creating the playbooks, architecture and engineering practices that scale across an entire portfolio.
This is a unique role for someone who enjoys wearing multiple hats: architect, engineer, advisor and coach.
What You'll Do:🚀 Build AI That Ships – Turn ambitious AI ideas into production-ready systems, helping engineering teams design and deploy real-world LLM and agentic applications.🧠 Advise Technical Leaders – Partner directly with CTOs, CEOs and engineering leadership to shape AI strategy, architecture and technical roadmaps.🔍 Solve Ambiguous Problems – Evaluate products, data and engineering systems to identify where AI can create genuine value, then define the right technical approach.🤝 Raise the Technical Bar – Coach engineers and technical leaders, leaving behind reusable patterns, playbooks and engineering practices that continue long after you've left.📚 Scale Best Practices – Identify successful approaches across multiple portfolio companies and help spread them through technical workshops, CTO roundtables and shared frameworks.🏗 Stay Hands-On – Jump into code when needed, helping teams build modern AI systems using LLMs, agentic workflows, retrieval systems and evaluation frameworks.
The TeamYou'll join a small, highly technical group working directly with one of the world's leading technology investment firms. Rather than supporting a single product, you'll have the opportunity to influence multiple high-growth software companies, working alongside founders, CTOs and engineering teams tackling different technical challenges.This is a role for engineers who enjoy combining deep technical work with high-level strategic thinking and thrive in environments where every engagement is different.
What They're Looking For:✅ 5-10+ years of software engineering experience with significant technical ownership✅ Experience shipping AI-native or AI-enabled products into production✅ Strong understanding of modern AI application architecture, including LLMs, agentic systems, RAG and evaluation frameworks✅ Comfortable leading technical direction and making architectural decisions for complex systems✅ Exceptional problem-solving skills with the ability to break down ambiguous challenges into practical engineering solutions✅ Strong communication skills and the ability to influence engineers, technical leaders and executives without formal authority✅ A genuine passion for helping engineering teams become better builders of AI products
What They Offer:💰 $200K-$275K base salary plus competitive equity✈️ Hybrid working with travel to portfolio companies🤝 Direct collaboration with CEOs, CTOs and engineering leadership across multiple software businesses🚀 The opportunity to influence AI strategy and execution across an entire portfolio rather than a single product🌍 Visa sponsorship available (including H-1B and TN transfers, with 3+ years remaining)💡 A rare chance to combine hands-on engineering, technical leadership and AI advisory work at the forefront of enterprise AI adoption📍 Boston, MA or New York, NY (Hybrid)
If you've built AI systems, enjoy solving difficult technical problems, and want to help shape how ambitious software companies adopt AI, I'd love to hear from you.
📩 Send me a message or apply below.