Forward Deployed Engineer (AI / Infrastructure)

Forward Deployed Engineer (AI / Infrastructure) Location:San Francisco (Onsite, 5 days/week) Compensation:$200K – $325K base + competitive equity Stage:Series B ($100M+ raised from top-tier investors)The Opportunity A high-growth, venture-backed AI infrastructure company is building the system that replaces legacy enterprise platforms like ServiceNow.They’ve raised over $100M from top investors and are already working with companies like Notion, Perplexity, and large enterprise customers to automate complex internal workflows using AI agents.The product is live, in-market, and solving real problems — not an experimental layer on top of existing tools.They’re now hiring Forward Deployed Engineers to help scale deployments and shape how the product evolves in real-world environments.What This Role Actually Is This is not a typical solutions or implementation role. You will operate as asoftware engineer first , contributing directly to the core product, while also working closely with customers to ensure the system works in practice. You’ll spend most of your time building — and the rest working directly with customers to: understand real-world constraints unblock deployments and turn edge cases into product improvements Think: product engineer × customer-facing engineer × early-stage builderWhat You’ll Do Build and ship production-grade backend systems, APIs, and integrations Architect and deploy AI-driven workflows across enterprise environments Translate complex, ambiguous customer problems into scalable product features Work directly with customers during pilots, deployments, and feedback loops Contribute to the core platform alongside a high-caliber engineering team Help define how this function operates as the company scalesTechnical Scope This role is backend-heavy and systems-oriented.You’ll work across: Backend services and APIs Distributed systems and integrations Workflow orchestration and automation AI/LLM-powered systems (applied, not research)Typical stack includes: Python / TypeScript Cloud infrastructure (AWS / GCP) API integrations and external systems Event-driven architecturesWhat They’re Looking For Strong software engineering fundamentals (backend + systems) Ability to pass high-bar coding and system design interviews Experience building and shipping production systems Comfort operating in fast-moving, ambiguous environments Strong communication skills and ability to work with customersStrong Signals Top-tier academic background (or equivalent signal) Early-stage startup or 0?1 experience Internships or experience at high-bar engineering companies Exposure to APIs, integrations, or workflow automation Interest in AI systems, infrastructure, or agent-based workflowsWhy This Role Work on real-world problems, not abstract features High ownership from day one — no layers, no handoffs Direct exposure to enterprise systems and decision-making Build alongside a small, high-caliber team Learn the technical + product + customer side of building a companyWho This Is For This role tends to resonate most with engineers who: want to build, not just maintain are curious about how systems actually work in production are interested in starting a company or owning products in the future want to move faster than they can in large, structured environments