Forward Deployed Engineer

About the Role

This is a founding Forward Deployed Engineer position at a fast-growing document AI company, sitting at the intersection of deep engineering and direct customer impact. You will own the full technical lifecycle for enterprise accounts, from pre-sales evaluations through post-sales success, and help shape what this function looks like from the ground up. The company is processing tens of millions of pages a month and growing rapidly.

What You'll Do

• Partner with sales and solutions teams during pre-sales to run rigorous evaluations, build custom demo applications, and win competitive bake-offs.
• Own post-sales technical success for a small portfolio of enterprise accounts, meeting regularly with customers to unblock issues and deepen adoption.
• Build whatever is necessary to drive customer value, including eval applications, customized agents, or modifications to existing product surfaces.
• Develop diagnostics, dashboards, and eval harnesses to measure performance and track regressions across customer environments.
• Build close relationships with key customer stakeholders, especially technical ones.
• Act as a feedback loop to product and engineering teams, surfacing usability gaps, unmet needs, and expansion opportunities.
• Work directly with founders and customers to influence product direction and engineering strategy.

What We're Looking For

• 3 to 6 years of experience deploying software in production settings, ideally with enterprise or regulated customers.
• Strong Python proficiency with a demonstrated ability to write, debug, and deploy production code; comfortable with Bash scripting for automation and tooling.
• Hands-on experience with AI/LLM tools and a solid understanding of LLM and ML concepts beyond basic coding assistants.
• Experience building custom applications, running evaluations, and debugging complex technical deployments independently.
• Proven ability to lead technical customer calls, present solutions, and drive deal positioning alongside sales and customer success teams.
• Comfortable engaging in technical discussions with enterprise customers in synchronous settings.
• Strong CS fundamentals, ideally from a rigorous academic background.
• Bonus: prior experience founding a company, building products at an early stage, or designing and running LLM/AI evaluations.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary range: $220,000 to $320,000 USD annually, plus equity. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Location

This role is on-site in San Francisco, CA.