Forward Deployed Engineer
Reach Velocity - Emerging TechnologyAbout the role
Forward Deployed Engineer
San Francisco or New York City · Onsite · Full-time
Base salary: $150,000–$275,000 plus competitive equity
Build software that solves the problems customers actually face.
We’re hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer for a growing technology company building AI-enabled data products for organizations with complex information and demanding workflows. This role combines hands-on production engineering with direct customer work, from understanding a problem and demonstrating a solution through implementation and ongoing improvement.
You’ll work closely with engineering and commercial teams, write production code, and help customers make practical use of data and AI. You’ll own projects from discovery through delivery and help turn successful customer solutions into repeatable product capabilities.
What you’ll do
Work directly with customers to understand their processes, data sources, and success criteria.
Build integrations and applications connecting documents, spreadsheets, databases, and APIs.
Reconcile inconsistent or unstructured data and make it reliable and usable.
Develop prototypes, demonstrations, and customer-facing interfaces.
Support technical discovery, product demonstrations, and solution design.
Contribute to deployment, evaluation, troubleshooting, and post-implementation improvements.
Identify recurring customer needs and turn individual solutions into reusable capabilities.
Explain architecture, trade-offs, and results clearly to technical and senior business stakeholders.
What you’ll bring
Typically 3–8 years of relevant engineering experience, including substantial customer-facing work.
Proven experience building and maintaining production backend or full-stack software.
Strong Python and SQL skills, with confidence navigating existing codebases.
Experience working with data pipelines, integrations, and inconsistent or unstructured data.
A practical understanding of LLM applications, RAG, embeddings, vector databases, and agent workflows.
Experience working with external customers on technical implementations, solutions engineering, or similar delivery responsibilities.
The ability to define a path forward when requirements are incomplete and build from scratch.
Genuine interest in combining engineering, customer relationships, and commercial impact.
A degree in computer science or another technical discipline from a highly regarded university.
Experience in financial services, enterprise data platforms, developer tools, or an early-stage AI company is especially useful.
Location and compensation
This is an onsite position in San Francisco or New York City. Candidates must already be based in one of these locations or be willing to relocate. The base salary range is $150,000–$275,000, depending on experience, plus competitive equity. Visa sponsorship and transfers may be considered based on individual circumstances.
The interview process includes an introductory conversation, a practical coding exercise, and sessions covering engineering collaboration, customer scenarios, and presentation skills.
If you enjoy building software and working directly with the people who use it, we’d like to hear from you.
Responsibilities
- Work directly with customers to understand their processes, data sources, and success criteria.
- Build integrations and applications connecting documents, spreadsheets, databases, and APIs.
- Reconcile inconsistent or unstructured data and make it reliable and usable.
- Develop prototypes, demonstrations, and customer-facing interfaces.
- Support technical discovery, product demonstrations, and solution design.
- Contribute to deployment, evaluation, troubleshooting, and post-implementation improvements.
- Identify recurring customer needs and turn individual solutions into reusable capabilities.
- Explain architecture, trade-offs, and results clearly to technical and senior business stakeholders.
Qualifications
- Typically 3–8 years of relevant engineering experience, including substantial customer-facing work.
- Proven experience building and maintaining production backend or full-stack software.
- Strong Python and SQL skills, with confidence navigating existing codebases.
- Experience working with data pipelines, integrations, and inconsistent or unstructured data.
- A practical understanding of LLM applications, RAG, embeddings, vector databases, and agent workflows.
- Experience working with external customers on technical implementations, solutions engineering, or similar delivery responsibilities.
- The ability to define a path forward when requirements are incomplete and build from scratch.
- Genuine interest in combining engineering, customer relationships, and commercial impact.
Benefits
- Competitive equity
Skills mentioned
About Reach Velocity - Emerging Technology
Reach Velocity: Strategic Talent & Growth Partner for Emerging Technology Reach Velocity is a specialist technology consulting and talent solutions firm supporting the world’s most innovative companies. With headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal and Laguna Beach, California, we operate at the intersection of strategic advisory, workforce design, and elite technical recruitment across global innovation hubs. Our focus is on helping high-growth companies build and scale world-class engineering and leadership teams in advanced sectors including Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Autonomous Systems, Aerospace, Space Exploration, AgTech, and Future Mobility. Beyond traditional recruitment, Reach Velocity works closely with founders, executives, and technical leaders to design scalable talent strategies that support rapid innovation and long-term growth. Strategic Talent Solutions We deliver flexible hiring solutions tailored to the needs of both venture-backed startups and established technology organizations, including: Executive Search & Leadership Hiring Identifying and securing senior leaders capable of scaling complex technical organizations. Specialist Engineering Recruitment Access to the top tier of global talent across AI/ML, perception, autonomy software, robotics, embedded systems, and aerospace engineering. Project & Team Buildouts Assembling complete engineering teams to support product launches, R&D initiatives, and next-generation technology programs. Embedded Hiring Partnerships (RPO) Acting as an extension of internal teams to design hiring processes, pipelines, and long-term workforce strategies. Flexible Engagement Models Retained search, contingency recruitment, and contract staffing depending on the scale and urgency of each project. A Consulting-Led Approach to Recruitment What differentiates Reach Velocity is our consulting-first mindset. Rather than simply filling roles