Forward Deployed Engineer - Supply Chain Solutions

About Flexport

At Flexport, we believe global trade can move the human race forward. That’s why it’s our mission to make global commerce so easy there will be more of it. We’re shaping the future of a $10T industry with solutions powered by innovative technology and exceptional people. Today, companies of all sizes—from emerging brands to Fortune 500s—use Flexport technology to move more than $19B of merchandise across 112 countries a year. The recent global supply chain crisis has put Flexport center stage as we continue to play a pivotal role in how goods move around the world.

About the Role

At Flexport, we are building the unified Supply Chain Operating System for global trade. As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will embed directly on the frontlines with enterprise clients (such as Fortune 500 retailers, automotive manufacturers, and tech giants) to solve high-stakes supply chain challenges. You are an operational strike-team leader who sits at the intersection of full-stack software engineering, applied AI, operations research, and executive client strategy. Deployed to client command centers and logistics hubs, you will connect fragmented enterprise data, architect solutions, and build agentic AI systems that optimize real-world cargo moving across ocean, air, and land.

Responsibilities

• Travel to client sites to map end-to-end supply chain processes, audit legacy systems, uncover hidden financial leaks, and translate complex operational constraints into technical architectures.
• Design and build production solutions spanning customer applications, internal tools, APIs, data pipelines, decision-support systems, and workflow automations connecting directly to client ERPs (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), WMS, and TMS systems.
• Design and ship production-grade AI applications, agentic LLM workflows, and decision engines.
• Apply optimization algorithms and analytical methods to real-world logistics challenges such as routing, mode selection, inventory positioning, container utilization, consolidation, and exception prioritization.
• Drive high-velocity deployment sprints, taking solutions from discovery and architecture to live production deployment, operator adoption, and verified hard-dollar ROI measurement.
• Partner closely with Flexport core Product and Platform Engineering teams to turn custom, field-tested client builds into reusable platform capabilities for our global logistics engine.
• Work side-by-side with frontline logistics teams at ports, cross-docks, and client sites to validate code in live operational workflows, train users, and ensure lasting adoption.
• Communicate technical trade-offs, system architecture, and financial outcomes directly to client technical leaders and C-suite executives.

Requirements

• BA/BS degree or equivalent practical experience in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Operations Research, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field.
• 4+ years of professional software engineering experience building customer-facing or mission-critical applications (Python, TypeScript/React, SQL, REST/GraphQL APIs, relational databases, and event-driven architectures).
• Demonstrated ability to build and integrate AI/ML solutions (LLM orchestration, agentic workflows, machine learning models, or mathematical optimization solvers).
• Strong skills in designing data models, pipeline transformations (ETL), API integrations, and event-driven workflows across complex enterprise software architectures.
• Passion for going on-site, whiteboarding complex workflows with executive stakeholders, sitting with frontline operators, and building deep trust with technical and business teams.
• Ability to reason through messy real-world data, imperfect operational dependencies, and economic trade-offs under high-ambiguity conditions.
• High autonomy, self-starter mentality, and a track record of delivering end-to-end projects with measurable financial or operational impact.
• Willingness to travel to customer headquarters and logistics sites as needed (up to 50% travel required).

Preferred Qualifications

• Domain knowledge in global supply chain, ocean/air freight, customs compliance, warehousing, inventory management, or trade financing.
• Background in Operations Research (linear programming, network optimization, route planning, queueing theory) and enterprise implementation.
• Prior experience as a Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Architect, Technical Consultant, or Founding Engineer in a fast-paced environment.

Location

San Francisco, CA

Pay

The US base salary range for this position is $183,000—$230,000 USD. Base salary is just one part of our total rewards package at Flexport, which also includes bonus, equity, and comprehensive benefit offerings such as medical, dental, and flexible time off.