Forward Deployed Engineer (up to $220k)
Dex · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $220,000 / year
- United States
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Job highlights
- Founding Forward Deployed Engineer role.
- Build runtime for AI agents and services.
- Work with Fortune 500s and AI startups.
- Requires Go/Rust, Kubernetes, cloud expertise.
- Remote work opportunity in Europe.
About the role
About the Role
This company builds a lightweight runtime that turns AI agents, workflows, and backend services into durable processes. Their goal is to let engineering teams focus on business logic, not failure mechanics. Their runtime is already in production at Fortune 500 enterprises, Tier 1 banks running critical financial workflows, and frontier AI startups building production-grade agents. The founders are creators of Apache Flink and leaders from Meta's messaging infrastructure, backed by leading investors. As the founding Forward Deployed Engineer, you won't just execute a playbook; you'll write it. This is a rare opportunity to define how the function works, from PoC playbooks and path-to-production patterns to reusable enablement assets and the critical feedback loop into product. You'll own the technical journey from initial PoV/PoC enablement through to production readiness and deployment, working hands-on with sophisticated customer engineers at major enterprises and AI startups.The Work
- Define the PoC playbook, path-to-production patterns, and reusable enablement assets for a new runtime.
- Own the technical path from PoC success to production readiness, including Kubernetes, cloud setup, observability, networking, and security integration.
- Work directly with customer engineers and OSS evaluators on integrations, reference implementations, and architecture guidance.
- Drive discovery workshops and POV planning, then feed friction and papercuts back into the engineering team, contributing to docs, examples, and SDKs.
- Take part in escalation and on-call rotations for critical customer issues, ensuring production stability.
What You Bring
- Full proficiency in Go or Rust, plus at least one of TypeScript, Java, or Python.
- Strong Kubernetes skills, deep observability instincts, and hands-on experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure.
- Experience designing and operating real distributed backend systems in production, understanding failure modes from doing the work.
- A customer-success mindset: you go beyond immediate issues to understand context and activate internal champions.
- Comfortable being the technical face of the product in front of staff and principal engineers at Tier 1 banks and frontier AI teams.
- Eligible to work remotely from Europe.
Why Apply Through Dex
This is a founding role at a company solving a hard problem for major enterprises and frontier AI teams. Roles like this are rare and often oversubscribed. Apply through Dex to get properly briefed, skip the cold application process, and get matched to this role and others like it. If you're interested, sign up to Dex to apply - https://jobs.meetdex.ai/jobs/dd008655-3c8f-46c0-b72d-a8bc7ff62ad9 As part of the recruitment process at Dex, we process your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants. This notice explains how and why your data is collected and used, and how you can contact us if you have any concerns.Key skills/competency
- Forward Deployed Engineer
- Go OR Rust
- Kubernetes
- Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure)
- Observability
- Distributed Systems
- Backend Engineering
- Customer Success
- Technical Enablement
- AI Workflows
Skills & topics
- Forward Deployed Engineer
- Go
- Rust
- Kubernetes
- Cloud Computing
- AWS
- GCP
- Azure
- Distributed Systems
- Observability
- Backend Engineering
- Customer Success
- Technical Enablement
- AI
- Remote
- Europe
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight Go/Rust, Kubernetes, cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure), and distributed systems experience, emphasizing production operations and customer-facing roles.
- Showcase customer success: Detail instances where you've gone beyond immediate technical issues to understand customer context and drive internal adoption.
- Demonstrate technical leadership: Emphasize your ability to define new processes, create enablement assets, and provide architectural guidance.
- Prepare for technical deep-dives: Be ready to discuss failure modes of distributed systems and your experience with observability, networking, and security integrations.
- Apply via Dex: Utilize the Dex platform for a streamlined application process and to receive detailed role insights.
Technical preparation
Master Go or Rust; practice with Python/Java/TypeScript.,Deepen Kubernetes and cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure) skills.,Study distributed systems failure modes.,Prepare to explain observability and networking.
Behavioral questions
Describe a time you defined a new process.,How do you handle customer technical escalations?,Share an example of customer-centric problem-solving.,How do you provide feedback to engineering teams?
Frequently asked questions
- What is the primary responsibility of a Forward Deployed Engineer at this company?
- As a founding Forward Deployed Engineer, your primary responsibility is to define and execute the technical go-to-market strategy for the company's lightweight runtime. This includes creating PoC playbooks, path-to-production patterns, and enablement assets, while working directly with sophisticated customer engineers to ensure successful adoption and production readiness.
- What technical skills are essential for the Forward Deployed Engineer role?
- Essential technical skills include full proficiency in Go or Rust, combined with expertise in at least one of TypeScript, Java, or Python. Strong Kubernetes skills, deep observability instincts, and hands-on experience with major cloud providers like AWS, GCP, or Azure are also critical.
- What is the expected level of customer interaction for this Forward Deployed Engineer position?
- The role involves significant customer interaction. You will be the technical face of the product, working directly with customer engineers and OSS evaluators at major enterprises and AI startups. This includes driving discovery workshops, providing architecture guidance, and ensuring production stability, requiring a strong customer-success mindset.
- What is the work arrangement and location flexibility for this Forward Deployed Engineer job?
- This is a remote role, specifically open to candidates eligible to work remotely from Europe. The company values flexibility while ensuring critical customer issues are managed effectively through on-call rotations.
- What makes this Forward Deployed Engineer opportunity unique compared to other roles?
- This is a founding role at a company backed by top investors with founders from Apache Flink and Meta. You have the unique opportunity to define the Forward Deployed Engineer function from the ground up, directly influencing product development and customer success strategies.
- How does applying through Dex benefit a Forward Deployed Engineer candidate?
- Applying through Dex provides a streamlined process, ensuring you are properly briefed on the role and company culture before committing. It helps skip the traditional cold application process and connects you directly with relevant opportunities, including this founding Forward Deployed Engineer position.
- What kind of companies are using this company's runtime technology?