Jobs · Engineering · California

Forward Deployed Engineer

David Joseph & Company · San Francisco, CA · 2 wk ago
On-siteEngineering$150k–$225k/yrFull-time

The Role

Deploy multi-modal, agentic AI systems into production for senior insurance stakeholders, owning client deployments end-to-end from scoping through go-live as the primary point of contact. This role is more technical and more product-owning than the average FDE — you shape what the product becomes based on what works in production, working directly with the CTO on a forward-deployed function that is still being built.

What you'll be doing

  • Individually deploy multi-modal, agentic AI systems into production for senior client stakeholders
  • Own client deployments end-to-end, from scoping through go-live, as the primary point of contact
  • Build and manage client relationships, becoming the trusted partner executives rely on to scale AI adoption
  • Design, build, and evolve AI agents: prompt engineering, model integration, blitz prototyping using AI-assisted coding tools
  • Scope and develop new features that let customers scale while consistently improving claims results
  • Integrate the product into client environments, working hands-on with their tech teams on APIs and systems
  • Capture and share best practices in internal playbooks to scale Forward Deployed Engineering

Requirements

  • 2+ years technical + client-facing ownership — via agent engineering, forward-deployed engineering, growth engineering, or founding engineer/founder experience
  • Python, APIs, cloud, modern AI/ML tooling
  • LLM, prompt engineering, agentic AI fluency
  • AI-assisted dev workflows daily
  • Founder-mode operator
  • SF in-person

Green Flags

  • Prior Forward Deployed Engineer at a top AI or enterprise platform company. Direct experience deploying agents end-to-end is the highest-signal background.
  • Backend engineer who pivoted to a solutions engineer role. The order matters — backend depth first, then client-facing — because the role requires real building, not just integration support.
  • Founding engineer or founder background. The role requires founder-mode ownership, jumping between client calls and code without friction
  • Strong communications under pressure. Can hold their own with senior insurance executives paying seven figures, present clearly, and translate technical depth into business outcomes.
  • ICPC, NeurIPS, or comparable competitive technical pedigree. Aligns with the broader team's bar.

Red Flags

  • Pure solutions engineer with no prior backend experience. The hiring team flagged this directly — the role requires real building depth, not integration-only.
  • Backend engineer with no client-facing experience. The role is half client management, half engineering. Pure builder profiles will struggle.
  • Career FDE looking for a polished, mature function. This is a new function being built — currently 1 FDE on the team.
  • Not founder-mode. Candidates who need detailed direction or hand-offs will not match the operating bar.
  • Cannot or will not relocate to SF. Non-negotiable, even with full relocation support offered.

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