Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SF

Join Our TeamAt OpenAI, our Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) team collaborates with clients to transform groundbreaking research into scalable production systems. We thrive at the crossroads of client engagement and core platform innovation.Role OverviewAs a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will spearhead the intricate deployment of advanced models in production environments, working closely with our most significant clients. You will take ownership of the entire project lifecycle, from initial discovery and technical scoping to system design, implementation, and rollout, collaborating directly with customer engineering and specialized teams.Your success will be gauged by how well our solutions are adopted in production, the measurable impact on workflows, and feedback that influences product and model strategies. You will closely interact with our Product, Research, Partnerships, Governance, Risk, Compliance, Security, and Go-To-Market teams.This position is based in San Francisco, following a hybrid work model requiring three days in the office each week. We provide relocation assistance, and travel may be required up to 50%.Key ResponsibilitiesLead technical delivery across multiple deployment phases, from initial prototype to stable production.Develop full-stack systems that provide substantial value to customers and enhance our learning processes.Work intimately with customer teams to understand their requirements and facilitate the adoption of your solutions.Scope projects, plan deliveries, and proactively address potential obstacles.Make strategic decisions about project scope, speed, and quality; adapt plans to ensure successful delivery.Contribute code directly when progress or clarity is essential.Document effective workflows into tools, playbooks, or foundational building blocks for broader use.Provide valuable field feedback to help our Research and Product teams identify areas for model improvement.Ensure team momentum through clear communication and consistent follow-through.Ideal Candidate Profile5+ years of engineering or technical deployment expertise, with a focus on client-facing roles.Experience in scoping and delivering complex systems in dynamic or unclear environments.Proficient in writing and reviewing production-level code across both frontend and backend technologies, particularly Python.

Join Our Innovative TeamAt OpenAI, our Forward Deployed Engineering team collaborates with leading pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, contract research organizations (CROs), and research institutions. Our mission is to harness cutting-edge artificial intelligence to enhance the research and development (R&D) value chain, ensuring seamless deployment of AI systems that meet production-grade standards. We are dedicated to bridging the gap between customer needs and core platform development, transforming initial deployments into scalable, repeatable frameworks that thrive in regulated environments.Your RoleWe are looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) who is passionate about revolutionizing drug discovery and development processes. You will lead comprehensive deployments of our advanced models within life sciences organizations and research institutions, collaborating with subject matter experts to translate real-world data and infrastructure constraints into robust production systems.Success in this role will be measured through production adoption rates, tangible workflow improvements, and feedback loops driven by evaluation metrics that inform our product and model strategies. You will collaborate closely with teams across Product, Research, Partnerships, Governance, Risk Management, Security, and Go-To-Market to ensure compliance within regulated settings, including maintaining inspection readiness with detailed audit trails and traceable evidence.This position is based in San Francisco, and we embrace a hybrid work model requiring three days in the office each week. We offer relocation assistance, and the role may involve travel of up to 50%.Your ResponsibilitiesArchitect and deploy production systems centered around AI models, ensuring integration, data provenance, reliability, and on-call support for research, clinical, and operational workflows.Steer the discovery and scoping processes from pre-sales through post-sales, converting ambiguous workflow requirements into clearly defined hypotheses, system specifications, and actionable plans with measurable outcomes.Establish and uphold launch criteria tailored for regulated environments, including validation evidence, audit readiness, and outcome metrics, driving delivery until we achieve significant production impact.Develop solutions within sensitive scientific data environments where auditability, validation, and access controls inform architectural decisions, operational protocols, and error management strategies.Implement evaluation loops to assess model performance and system efficacy, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with project goals.

Join Our Innovative TeamAt OpenAI, our Forward Deployed Engineering team collaborates with clients to transform cutting-edge research into functional production systems. We thrive at the junction of customer delivery and foundational platform development.Your Role as a Forward Deployed Software EngineerWe are seeking dynamic and customer-centric software engineers who can create bespoke software solutions that utilize OpenAI’s APIs to address pressing client needs. In this role, you will engage closely with clients and OpenAI's Forward Deployed Engineers to architect and implement scalable solutions for their most challenging issues. Your expertise will facilitate the design of abstractions that enhance our delivery speed and quality across all engagements.You will work in tandem with Sales, Solutions Engineering, Solutions Architects, and Customer Success Managers on shared accounts. Your insights will also bridge communication with our Research and Applied Product and Engineering teams to ensure that client feedback is integrated into our offerings.This position is based in San Francisco with a hybrid work model requiring three days in the office per week. We provide relocation assistance and expect travel up to 50%.Key ResponsibilitiesWork closely with strategic customers to deeply understand their business challenges and technical requirements.Design, architect, and develop full-stack solutions using a methodical, iterative approach.Create comprehensive scopes of work and project plans for both proof-of-concept prototypes and full-scale deployments.Act as a technical expert and trusted advisor, working hands-on with clients’ technical teams to drive projects to successful completion.Collaborate with Product, Research, and Applied teams to ensure optimal customer experiences and project outcomes.Contribute to our internal knowledge base, documenting best practices and sharing insights from customer interactions to enhance Forward Deployed Engineering efficiency.Ideal Candidate ProfileOver 7 years of professional full-stack engineering experience (excluding internships) in technology and product-driven environments, with a strong preference for customer-facing roles....

This technical role is based in Voltai's San Francisco office (Atherton) and involves travel to customer sites throughout the Bay Area. About Voltai Voltai develops models and agents that assess, design, and interact with hardware and electronic systems. The company is backed by Stanford, Sequoia, and leaders from Google, AMD, Broadcom, and others, providing strong industry connections. The Team The Voltai team brings together hackers, researchers, and operators focused on advancing AI for electronic systems and semiconductors. Team members include former Stanford professors, SAIL researchers, Olympiad medalists, and executives from Synopsys, GlobalFoundries, and Cadence. While backgrounds are impressive, the group values delivering results above all. Role Overview The Senior Forward Deployed Engineer will deliver Voltai's AI platform to leading semiconductor and consumer electronics companies. This work involves close collaboration with customers to develop and enhance new features. What You Will Do Oversee customer deployments at offices across the SF Bay Area, including Cupertino and Santa Clara. Implement features tailored to customer workflows and migrate features from Voltai's cloud solution to on-premises environments in secure infrastructures. Set up, monitor, and troubleshoot cloud deployments across AWS, Azure, GCP, and OpenShift. Develop an understanding of hardware design. Prior experience is not required, but a willingness to learn high-level hardware development is important. What We Look For Analytical thinkers; Voltai values problem-solving over keyword matching. At least 3 years of experience in backend engineering, full-stack development, or infrastructure/DevOps (internships and teaching assistant roles do not count). Familiarity with agent development and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Strong instincts in systems design and debugging. Comfort with Docker, cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP), and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools. Willingness to travel, mainly within California.

Join Cloudflare as a Forward Deployed Engineer, where you will play a pivotal role in bridging technical solutions with customer needs. In this dynamic position, you will work closely with clients to implement and optimize our network services, ensuring they are effectively integrated into their infrastructure. Your expertise will not only help clients achieve their goals but also contribute to the development of innovative solutions that enhance our offerings.The ideal candidate will possess strong problem-solving abilities and have a passion for technology and customer success. If you thrive in a collaborative environment and are eager to make a significant impact in the tech industry, we want to hear from you!

Join the innovative team at Mercor as a Forward Deployed Engineer, where you will play a crucial role in delivering cutting-edge solutions to our clients. In this dynamic position, you will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to deploy and optimize our products in real-world environments.

ABOUT BASETENAt Baseten, we empower revolutionary AI companies, including Cursor, Notion, OpenEvidence, Abridge, Clay, Gamma, and Writer, to achieve mission-critical inference. By integrating cutting-edge AI research, adaptable infrastructure, and user-friendly developer tools, we enable organizations at the forefront of AI to seamlessly deploy advanced models into production. Our rapid growth is exemplified by our recent $300M Series E funding, supported by esteemed investors such as BOND, IVP, Spark Capital, Greylock, and Conviction. Join us in creating the essential platform that engineers rely on to launch AI products successfully.THE ROLEAs a Forward Deployed Engineer at Baseten, you will collaborate closely with clients to design, develop, and implement high-scale production AI applications utilizing our platform. You will guide customers through their journey from initial concept to full production deployment, expertly translating vague business objectives into dependable, observable services that meet clear standards for quality, latency, and cost.This position is ideal for innovative engineers eager to gain insights into how modern enterprises adopt AI at scale, and who thrive in environments that blend product development, software engineering, performance optimization, and direct customer engagement.Please note that this is a hands-on engineering role involving coding and software development, complemented by responsibilities in product management, technical customer success, and pre-sales solution engineering.EXAMPLE INITIATIVESExplore these insightful blog posts authored by our Forward Deployed Engineering team: Forward Deployed Engineering on the Frontier of AIThe Fastest, Most Accurate Whisper TranscriptionDeploy Production-Ready Model Servers from Docker ImagesDeploy Custom ComfyUI Workflows as APIs

Join Interface as a Forward Deployed Engineer! We are on the lookout for innovative generalist engineers (machine learning, data, full-stack) who are not afraid to push boundaries and have a strong drive to succeed. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and believe in building quickly to achieve results, we want you on our team!Who You Are:You make quick, strategic decisions that can be reversed easily.You proactively identify and resolve issues before they are brought to your attention.You are proficient with our technology stack, including TSX, Python, Docker, LLMs, YOLO, Tesseract, PostgreSQL, AWS, and React Native.You have a track record of building impactful products that are actively used.You excel in dynamic and chaotic environments.Your Responsibilities:Engage with users and customers to understand their experiences, challenges, and needs.Design and architect systems that are utilized daily by large-scale enterprises.Develop autonomous data pipelines that efficiently audit vast amounts of documents.Manage scalable infrastructure to support our growing needs.Deliver solutions rapidly, as we believe that perfectionism can impede progress.Real Talk:Collaborate closely with the founding team and our customers.Prioritize user needs over flashy features and trends.Expect to work six days a week at our office.Be ready for an intense working environment in San Francisco, known for its excellent weather and vibrant tech ecosystem.Additional Information:Remote applications are welcomed from candidates around the globe.We offer competitive salaries, substantial equity, and the opportunity to influence early-stage decisions.Receive a $3,000 bonus for successful referrals!About Interface: We are the leaders in autonomous safety solutions for the industrial sector. We are developing an advanced AI-powered auditing platform that identifies and rectifies errors in various industrial documents, including regulatory filings and CAD files. Join us at the forefront of innovation where LLMs, computer vision, and data pipelines converge to redefine compliance and safety standards.

OverviewPulse is at the forefront of addressing a significant challenge in data infrastructure: extracting precise, structured information from intricate documents at scale. Our innovative approach to document understanding merges intelligent schema mapping with advanced extraction models, where traditional OCR and parsing tools often fall short.Based in San Francisco, we are a dynamic, rapidly expanding team of engineers dedicated to empowering Fortune 100 companies, YC startups, public investment firms, and growth-stage businesses. With the backing of top-tier investors, we are on an exciting growth trajectory.Our technology stands out due to its multi-stage architecture, which includes:Specialized models for layout understanding and component detectionLow-latency OCR models tailored for precise extractionAdvanced algorithms for reading order in complex structuresProprietary recognition and parsing of table structuresFine-tuned vision-language models for interpreting charts, tables, and figuresIf you are passionate about the intersection of computer vision, NLP, and data infrastructure, your contributions at Pulse will have a direct impact on our customers and help shape the future of document intelligence.

Join Palona as a Forward Deployed Engineer and be part of a groundbreaking team that's redefining the landscape of adaptive, multimodal AI systems. In this dynamic role, you will merge engineering expertise with customer engagement and practical operations. Collaborating directly with industry operators, you will play a crucial role in guiding AI agents that learn and adapt in real-time.If you thrive on blending technological innovation with human interaction, relish tackling complex real-world challenges, and seek to make a significant impact in live environments, this is the opportunity for you.ResponsibilitiesAs a Forward Deployed Engineer, you will serve as the vital link between our product, our clients, and the AI agents deployed to the field. Your responsibilities will include:Deep Collaboration: Work closely with operators and clients to gain insights into business operations, identify real-world workflows, and translate these into system functionalities.AI Development: Design, scope, and implement adaptive AI agents that evolve with the customer’s environment, creating dynamic systems that improve through ongoing interaction.Application Integration: Build and integrate robust applications that connect Palona’s AI platform with customer infrastructure.Prototyping and Demos: Develop demonstrations, prototypes, and workflows showcasing how adaptive agents can effectively address operational challenges.Field Testing: Troubleshoot real-world edge cases and transform insights from deployments into actionable product intelligence and enhancements.Performance Assurance: Ensure the reliability, safety, and performance of AI agents in fast-paced, operationally intense settings.Relationship Building: Cultivate long-term partnerships where both you and the AI agents evolve alongside the customer.This role is a unique hybrid of engineering and consulting, designed for individuals who possess a blend of curiosity, ownership, and versatility.

Join Cloudflare as a Forward Deployed Engineer, where you will play a crucial role in delivering innovative solutions to our clients. This position involves working closely with customers to deploy and integrate our cutting-edge technologies while enhancing their infrastructure and security.You will be part of a dynamic team that thrives on collaboration and creativity, tackling complex challenges and driving impactful results. If you are passionate about technology and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, this is the opportunity for you!

Join our dynamic team as a Forward Deployed Engineer in the heart of San Francisco! In this role, you will work closely with clients, leveraging cutting-edge technology to deliver innovative solutions tailored to their needs. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, ensuring seamless integration and deployment of our products to drive success for our customers.

ABOUT THE ROLE:As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Varick, you will play a pivotal hybrid role that merges engineering prowess with client engagement. You will collaborate directly with enterprise clients, akin to strategists, while also taking on the technical challenge of building solutions. Your responsibilities will include conducting audits, mapping workflows, identifying automation opportunities, and coding the solutions that bring those opportunities to life. You will be the vital link from the initial discovery phase through to deployment.This position demands an individual capable of engaging with C-suite executives, such as CFOs, to analyze their month-end closing processes and then architecting the necessary systems to enhance efficiency. The ideal candidate will possess both the polished client-facing skills and deep technical expertise, as we require a rare blend of both.

At EndeavorAI, we are pioneers in the realm of enterprise AI.Our innovative software serves as the distribution layer for advanced AI models designed to shape the future.We passionately believe that AI will revolutionize sectors such as legal, healthcare, and finance, but our foremost mission is to develop AI that transforms the physical infrastructure necessary for AI's growth.We specifically target the building materials market, which suffers from outdated manual quoting, order entry, and pricing processes—leading to lost revenue and inefficiencies. Our AI solutions are designed to optimize these processes, leading to rapid market adoption. Once we dominate this sector, we'll expand into other industries. Our immediate goal is to secure our position in this market as it is crucial for our next phase of growth.While labs innovate future models, we focus on the last-mile delivery, ensuring reliable results that integrate seamlessly with existing ecosystems.Our Core Principles:We embrace boldness, especially when faced with challenges deemed impossible.We are committed to seeking the truth, prioritizing clarity over comfort.We will succeed, and we dedicate ourselves fully to achieving that success.Role Overview | Forward Deployed EngineerIn the role of Forward Deployed Engineer, you will collaborate closely with our clients to tackle their most pressing technical challenges, crafting tailored solutions as both an engineer and a trusted advisor. Your days will vary significantly; one day you may be on-site with a client, the next diving deep into code, and the following presenting your solutions to executive teams. This position demands adaptability and the ability to thrive in an environment where requirements are still being defined. If you enjoy diverse tasks, value relationship building, and are energized by solving intricate problems in dynamic settings, this is the opportunity for you.

Coframe is looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer based in the SF Bay Area. This role centers on building custom integrations, refining client workflows, and delivering solutions for large enterprise customers. Key Responsibilities Work directly with strategic enterprise clients to understand their technical needs and challenges Design and implement integrations tailored to each client’s environment Optimize existing workflows to create measurable improvements Collaborate with engineering and product teams to develop effective solutions Help expand Coframe’s presence within major customer accounts Role Details This is a hands-on position that blends technical problem-solving with frequent customer interaction. Forward Deployed Engineers at Coframe bridge engineering, product, and client priorities, taking on complex enterprise projects that contribute to both client outcomes and company growth.

Overview: At Sphinx, we are pioneering the automation of compliance processes for banks and fintech companies through advanced AI agents that function like human analysts in a browser environment. As demand accelerates, our deployment team is expanding to cater to the needs of significant financial institutions across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Latin America. If you thrive in delivering functional systems in dynamic environments, swiftly resolving complex scenarios, and collaborating closely with clients, we want to hear from you.Excited to jump ahead? Participate in our AI-proof coding challenge to bypass the queue. If successful, we will connect with you directly for an interview with our CTO. Winning the challenge earns you $10,000, no questions asked.Company BackgroundCompliance is a critical process ensuring that financial transactions are secure and legitimate. At Sphinx, we develop AI-driven analysts that seamlessly integrate with browsers, APIs, and internal systems to automate Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), Know Your Business (KYB), and transaction monitoring from end to end.Our AI agents are already responsible for millions of compliance decisions across the banking, fintech, and cryptocurrency sectors. As we scale rapidly, each new deployment challenges the boundaries of what AI can achieve in live production environments.Why You Should Join SphinxExpand into a significant market: The financial sector invests around $50 billion annually on hiring analysts for manual reporting. This industry has seen limited innovation, and our competitors frequently receive complaints from customers. It's not glamorous work, but you will be building the intelligence infrastructure that safeguards the entire financial ecosystem.Consistent success: We have successfully won every Request for Proposal (RFP) we have participated in, outperforming our competitors.Join a dynamic team: Our co-founders have a proven track record of selling an AI company and developing machine learning systems that scaled to millions of users, securing contracts with major banks. Our San Francisco team comprises PhD holders, industry veterans, and elite coders.Innovative technology: Our approach involves developing groundbreaking technology, which serves as our competitive advantage.Focus on customers, not investors: We prioritize building customer relationships over chasing investors. Our solutions have significantly reduced manual workloads by 90% and cut costs by fourfold for leading banks and fintechs worldwide.Technical Challenges Await

Join Metriport as a Forward Deployed Engineer, where you will play a critical role in deploying our cutting-edge solutions directly to clients. In this dynamic position, you'll collaborate closely with our engineering and product teams to ensure seamless integration of our software in various environments. Your expertise will not only help us enhance our technologies but also empower our clients to achieve their business objectives through effective use of our products.

Join our dynamic team at Physical Intelligence as a Forward Deployed Robotics Engineer, where you'll be the frontline technical expert for our innovative fleet of robotic systems operating in various warehouse and data-collection environments. Our diverse array of robots, encompassing both static and mobile systems, tackles intricate manipulation and sensing tasks in real-world applications. As the first responder to any technical challenges, you'll analyze field tickets, replicate issues, gather diagnostic data, and spearhead resolutions to ensure our fleet operates at peak efficiency.

At Exa, we are on a mission to revolutionize the AI landscape by developing a cutting-edge search engine from the ground up. Our robust infrastructure is designed to efficiently crawl the web, train advanced embedding models for indexing, and create incredibly high-performance vector databases in Rust for optimized search capabilities. Our state-of-the-art $5 million H200 GPU cluster powers tens of thousands of machines, enabling unmatched performance.As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Exa, you will play a vital role in bridging the technical and commercial aspects of our business. This unique position requires someone who is not only proficient in programming but also skilled in engaging with customers—truly a winning combination!

Note: Partly is headquartered in the UK, with a Product and Engineering HQ in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a growing presence in San Francisco, USA. If you are located outside of a Hub, we will arrange travel to the nearest Hub for one week each quarter for our “Season Openers” (including travel and accommodation costs). Our StoryAt Partly, our mission is to revolutionize the connection of the world’s parts by creating the first global platform for replacement parts, starting with the auto parts industry. Our ambitious vision is to propel the world towards a sustainable future where anyone can fix anything.Founded by former Rocket Lab engineers, we leverage cutting-edge technology to tackle exciting challenges and make a significant impact in a $1.9 trillion industry. Over the past year, our team has more than tripled in size, and we anticipate doubling again in the next year. We are a diverse team from Europe and Australasia.We offer scalable digital infrastructure solutions to some of the world’s largest corporations and the most innovative startups. Our solutions are integrated across hundreds of global companies, providing the backbone for online parts cataloging and management.Our esteemed investors include Blackbird Ventures (backers of Canva, CultureAmp, etc.), Square Peg, Octopus Ventures, Icehouse, Peter Beck (Rocket Lab), Akshay Kothari (Notion Co-Founder), and Dylan Field (Figma Co-Founder).We are committed to building a world-class team and ensuring that Partly is a place where individuals can perform their best work. We take pride in our culture, with our values being integral to every experience here.Curious about the challenges we tackle and the culture we foster at Partly? Discover firsthand from our team here: https://shorturl.at/iAFUX This RoleAs a Forward Deployed Engineer, you will collaborate with our product and engineering team to address complex and stimulating challenges while creating exceptional software. Responsibilities (Forward Deployed Engineer)You’ll engage directly with customers in your local market, on-site when necessary, to gain a comprehensive understanding of their workflows, limitations, and what constitutes “success” in practical terms.You’ll spearhead technical discoveries, design solutions, and oversee the delivery of high-quality software.