Forward Deployed Engineer

Laurel is on a mission to return time. As the leading AI Time platform for professional services firms, we’re transforming how organizations capture, analyze, and optimize their most valuable resource: time. Our proprietary machine learning technology automates work time capture and connects time data to business outcomes, enabling firms to increase profitability, improve client delivery, and make data-driven strategic decisions. We serve many of the world's largest accounting and law firms, including EY, Aprio, Crowell & Moring, and Frost Brown Todd, and process over 1 billion work activities annually that have never been collected and aggregated before Laurel’s AI Time platform.Our team comprises top talent in AI, product development, and engineering—innovative, humble, and forward-thinking professionals committed to redefining productivity in the knowledge economy. We're building solutions that empower workers to deliver twice the value in half the time, giving people more time to be creative and impactful. If you're passionate about transforming how people work and building a lasting company that explores the essence of time itself, we'd love to meet you.The RoleAs a Forward Deployed Engineer at Laurel, you’ll work directly with customers to design, build, and deploy AI-powered systems that solve real operational problems.You’ll operate at the intersection of engineering, product, and customer delivery — embedding deeply with customer teams, understanding their workflows firsthand, and shipping production-grade systems that create measurable impact.This is not a solutions architect role. It is not post-sales support. And it is not lightweight integration work.You will write production code, own technical outcomes end-to-end, and help shape the core Laurel platform through what you learn in the field.The best FDEs are highly technical product engineers who also happen to be exceptional at navigating ambiguity, communicating with stakeholders, and turning incomplete information into working systems.You Should Be Excited By Questions LikeHow do we turn a messy operational workflow into a reliable AI system?What breaks when LLMs meet real enterprise data?How do we build infrastructure that works across dozens of customer environments?When should something become productized versus remain customer-specific?How do we go from “interesting prototype” to trusted production workflow in days, not months?What You’ll DoWork directly with customers and Laureates to understand operational workflows, constraints, and technical environmentsDesign and implement production-grade solutions across backend services, orchestration layers, integrations, and internal toolingWrite high-quality code across the stack — typically TypeScript, APIs, data pipelines, and cloud infrastructureOwn deployments end-to-end: discovery, architecture, implementation, testing, rollout, monitoring, and iterationDebug complex issues across customer systems, infrastructure, authentication, APIs, and data pipelinesCollaborate closely with Product and Core Engineering to turn field learnings into reusable platform capabilitiesRapidly prototype new functionality while maintaining strong engineering judgment around scalability and maintainabilityTranslate ambiguous customer needs into clear technical plans and execution pathsHelp customers operationalize AI safely and effectively in real production environmentsHelp accelerate the implementation team’s efforts to reduce time to impact for customers.What We’re Looking ForWe’re looking for engineers who combine strong technical fundamentals with exceptional ownership and execution.You May Be a Fit If YouHave 4+ years of experience building production software systemsAre comfortable moving across backend, infrastructure, integrations, and customer environmentsCan independently architect and ship complex systems with minimal oversightHave experience with APIs, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and data-intensive applicationsHave worked with LLMs, AI agents, retrieval systems, orchestration frameworks, or applied AI systems in productionThrive in ambiguous environments where requirements evolve quicklyCan communicate clearly with both engineers and non-technical stakeholdersCare deeply about speed, iteration, and customer impactAre excited to work directly with customers and own outcomes, not just ticketsStrong SignalsThese are not requirements, but they tend to correlate strongly with success in this role:Startup experience or early-stage product buildingExperience deploying AI systems into enterprise environmentsStrong systems engineering or infrastructure backgroundExperience integrating with third-party enterprise systems and APIsFamiliarity with authentication systems, security constraints, and enterprise IT environmentsExperience debugging production issues in unfamiliar codebasesHistory of shipping quickly under real-world constraintsComfort balancing rapid iteration with long-term engineering qualityWhat Success Looks LikeSuccessful Forward Deployed Engineers at Laurel:Earn deep trust with customer teams through technical credibility and executionMove customers from pilot to production quicklyCreate reusable technical patterns that improve the core platformIdentify the difference between one-off customization and durable product opportunityBring clarity to ambiguous problemsOperate with urgency while maintaining strong engineering judgmentLeave systems in a maintainable, scalable state after deploymentWhy This Role MattersAt Laurel, we believe the best enterprise software comes from engineers working directly with real customer problems — not from building in isolation. The insights generated in the field shape our roadmap, platform architecture, and product direction.This Role Is Ideal For Engineers Who Want ToBuild and ship constantlyWork on hard technical problems with real-world constraintsDevelop strong product instinctsOperate with high ownership and autonomySee the direct impact of their work in production environmentsIf you’re energized by ambiguity, technical depth, customer context, and fast execution, we’d love to talk.Why Join LaurelTo date, we've secured significant funding from renowned venture capitalists (Google Ventures, IVP, Anthos, Upfront Ventures), as well as notable individuals like Marc Benioff, Gokul Rajaram, Kevin Weil, and Alexis OhanianA smart, fun, collaborative, and inclusive teamGreat employee benefits, including equity and 401KBi-annual, in-person company off-sites, in unique locations, to grow and share time with the teamAn opportunity to perform at your best while growing, making a meaningful impact on the company's trajectory, and embodying our core values: understanding your "why," dancing in the rain, being your whole self, and sanctifying timeWe encourage diverse perspectives and rigorous thinkers who aren't afraid to challenge the status quo. Laurel is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. We are not able to support visa sponsorship or relocation assistance.If you think you'd be a good fit for this role, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t perfectly match all the bullet points in the job description. At Laurel, we strive to create an inclusive culture that encourages people from all walks of life to bring their unique, diverse perspectives to work. Every day, we aim to build an environment that empowers us all to do the best work of our careers, and we can't wait to show you what we have to offer!Compensation Range: $180K - $230K