Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

True Talent Solutions Partners

Chicago, Illinois · New York, New YorkFull-time$200,000–$250,000Posted Nov 3, 2026

About the role

About the Role

Join an applied AI team in a venture-backed vertical SaaS business, building and deploying solutions for enterprise customers. This founding role will help shape the team's technical approach and its growing forward deployed engineering function.

What You'll Do

Lead customer discovery and translate business needs into product specifications and AI workflows.

Own end-to-end technical deployments, from initial build through customer adoption and ongoing maintenance.

Work on-site with customer leaders and teams to deliver solutions, with deployments that may last several weeks.

Develop shared data models and workflows that can be productized across verticals.

Partner with company leaders to define and execute the applied AI strategy.

Help establish the forward deployed engineering team as it grows.

What We're Looking For

Four to six years of experience in forward deployed engineering or a related technical, customer-facing role.

Experience building and deploying AI or software solutions for enterprise B2B clients, including ownership of a deployment from initial development through adoption.

Strong technical breadth across full-stack engineering, system architecture, data pipelines, LLM application patterns, and AI/ML.

Substantial enterprise software experience and the ability to translate business needs into technical solutions.

A bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.

Comfort with frequent customer travel, approximately 50%, and working on-site for extended deployments.

Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Visa sponsorship is not available.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary: $200,000 to $250,000 annually. Equity details were not provided.

Location

On-site in Chicago, Illinois, or New York, New York, five days per week. Relocation to either location is an option.

Responsibilities

  • Lead customer discovery and translate business needs into product specifications and AI workflows.
  • Own end-to-end technical deployments, from initial development through customer adoption and maintenance.
  • Work on-site with customer teams during deployments that may last several weeks.
  • Develop shared data models and workflows that can be productized across verticals.
  • Partner with company leaders to define and execute the applied AI strategy.
  • Help establish and grow the forward deployed engineering team.

Qualifications

  • Four to six years of experience in forward deployed engineering or a related customer-facing technical role.
  • Experience building and deploying AI or software solutions for enterprise B2B clients, owning deployments through adoption.
  • Technical breadth across full-stack engineering, system architecture, data pipelines, LLM application patterns, and AI/ML.
  • Substantial enterprise software experience and ability to translate business needs into technical solutions.
  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
  • Available for approximately 50% customer travel and extended on-site deployments.
  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident; visa sponsorship is unavailable.

Skills mentioned

System DesignFrontend DevelopmentBackend DevelopmentAPI IntegrationData EngineeringData PipelinesGenerative AILarge Language ModelsRetrieval-Augmented GenerationMachine Learning