Forward Deployed Engineer

New York City, NY · On-site · Full-time
Compensation: $240,000–$600,000 (guaranteed base + uncapped quarterly variable) + competitive equity About the Company A fully bootstrapped AI consulting firm that embeds small teams of strategists and engineers directly into Fortune 500 operations to help them become AI-native. The company is a formal implementation partner to leading frontier AI labs, working alongside their applied-AI teams on real enterprise problems. It has grown from a handful of people to roughly 40 in about a year, with rapid continued hiring planned. Founded 2025 · ~40 people · Industry: AI Consulting The Role Work in a small pod that embeds with a client, learns the domain, and owns the problem end-to-end. As a Forward Deployed Engineer you act as a genuine client-facing software engineer who designs, develops, and maintains modern web and agentic applications — and presents that work directly to client stakeholders. What you'll be doing

• Design, build, and maintain modern web and agentic applications directly for Fortune 500 clients
• Own technical initiatives end-to-end, from architecture through production delivery
• Operate with high autonomy in ambiguous, fast-moving client environments
• Present technical work and architecture directly to clients in a clear, consultative way
• Travel to client sites roughly once a month to work in person with stakeholders

Tech stack: Modern web + agentic application development; agentic coding tools used in daily workflow. Requirements

• 3-8+ years software engineering
• Client-facing experience required
• High autonomy, ambiguous environments
• NYC 5 days in-person + monthly client travel
• Guaranteed base + uncapped variable

Green Flags

• Genuine client-facing or customer-facing experience where the candidate owned the relationship and delivered real outcomes
• Founder, co-founder, or CTO background at a startup, especially someone who built a solo AI or software development practice, even without major commercial traction
• Track record of shipping fast and independently, without waiting to be told what's next
• Comfortable presenting technical architecture in a clear, consultative, non-technical-friendly way
• Background at teams inside larger companies known for strong engineering bars

Red Flags

• Career built entirely at large, brand-name organizations with traditional, slower-moving software stacks (large banks, telecom, defense contractors)
• Held a "Forward Deployed Engineer" title elsewhere without functioning as a genuine hands-on engineer
• Master's degree in computer science with no compensating signal of shipped, independent work
• Comfortable working a standard 40-hour week without urgency; not a fit for a role where deliverables sometimes require working through a weekend
• No demonstrated experience operating independently in ambiguous, fast-changing environments

Why Join

• Formal partner to leading frontier AI labs — work alongside their applied-AI teams on real Fortune 500 problems
• Small pods that own the domain end-to-end; among the steepest growth of your career
• Guaranteed base plus uncapped quarterly variable tied directly to shipped output

Details

• Location: New York City, NY
• Work policy: 5 days/week in person + ~monthly client-site travel
• Compensation: $240,000–$600,000 (base + uncapped variable) + equity
• Visa sponsorship: H-1B
• Employment type: Full-time