Forward Deployed Engineer
Machinify · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $130,000 / year
- United States
Tailored resume — keyword-matched to this role.
Hiring manager — we find who's hiring.
Intro email — drafted to reach them directly.
Job highlights
- Embed with customer teams to solve complex problems.
- Build, configure, and deploy solutions on Machinify's platform.
- Write production code and design data pipelines.
- Own end-to-end project outcomes from inception to production.
- Contribute to core product improvements based on customer feedback.
About the role
About Machinify
Machinify is a leading healthcare intelligence company with expertise across the payment continuum, delivering unmatched value, transparency, and efficiency to health plan clients across the country. Deployed by over 85 health plans, including many of the top 20, and representing more than 270 million lives, Machinify brings together a fully configurable and content-rich, AI-powered platform along with best-in-class expertise. We’re constantly reimagining what’s possible in our industry, creating disruptively simple, powerfully clear ways to maximize financial outcomes and drive down healthcare costs.We're hiring Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) to sit at the intersection of our product and our customers' hardest problems. You'll embed with customer teams, understand their workflows deeply, and build, configure, and deploy solutions on top of our platform that actually move the needle. This isn't traditional implementation work — you'll write production code, design data pipelines, and ship features that often make their way back into the core product.
What You'll Do
- You'll spend significant time on-site (or deeply async) with customer teams — engineers, analysts, operators, executives — to figure out what's actually broken and what's worth building.
- You'll prototype quickly, then harden what works: data integrations, internal tools, ML pipelines, custom UIs, automation.
- You'll own outcomes end-to-end, from the first whiteboard session to the version running in production six months later.
- You'll bring real signal back to our product and engineering teams, advocating for the platform changes that would have made your job easier.
- You'll do all of this without a clean spec — figuring out the problem is half the work.
What We're Looking For
- Strong generalist engineering chops. You can move comfortably across the stack — backend services, data work, frontend when needed, infra when forced. We don't care which languages, but you should be the kind of person who picks up a new one in a weekend if the job calls for it.
- Customer instinct. You can sit in a room with a non-technical user, ask the right questions, and translate what you hear into something buildable. You don't get defensive when feedback is messy. You can push back on a customer when their ask is wrong, and they'll thank you for it.
- High agency and tolerance for ambiguity. You're allergic to waiting for permission. When the path forward isn't clear, you make a call and ship something. You're comfortable being the only engineer in a room of stakeholders.
- Bias toward shipping. You'd rather have a working v0 in front of a user on Friday than a perfect design doc on Monday.
- Nice to have: prior experience as a founder, early engineer at a startup, consultant at a top firm, or in roles where you owned a customer relationship technically.
- Background in data engineering, ML, or distributed systems.
- Willingness to travel — typically 25-50% depending on the engagement.
Equal Employment Opportunity at Machinify
Machinify is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Machinify is an employment at will employer. We participate in E-Verify as required by applicable law. In accordance with applicable state laws, we do not inquire about salary history during the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application or recruitment process, please let our recruiters know. See our Candidate Privacy Notice at: https://www.machinify.com/candidate-privacy-notice/Key skills/competency
- Forward Deployed Engineer
- Full Stack Development
- Data Engineering
- Machine Learning
- Customer Relationship Management
- Problem Solving
- Agile Development
- Production Code
- Data Pipelines
- System Design
Skills & topics
- Forward Deployed Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Full Stack Developer
- Data Engineer
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Implementation Specialist
- Technical Consultant
- Healthcare Technology
- SaaS
- AI Platform
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight full-stack engineering, data pipelines, ML, and customer-facing experience. Emphasize any startup or consulting background.
- Showcase problem-solving: In your application, provide examples of how you've tackled ambiguous problems and shipped solutions quickly.
- Demonstrate customer instinct: Prepare to discuss how you translate non-technical needs into technical solutions and manage client expectations.
- Highlight adaptability: Be ready to share instances where you've learned new technologies rapidly and worked autonomously.
- Prepare for technical interviews: Brush up on generalist engineering skills across backend, data, frontend, and infrastructure.
Technical preparation
Practice full-stack coding challenges.,Design data pipelines and ML systems.,Solve ambiguous problems with code.,Prepare to learn new languages quickly.
Behavioral questions
Describe a time you solved an ambiguous problem.,How do you handle difficult customer feedback?,Share an instance of taking initiative.,Explain how you prioritize shipping working solutions.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a Forward Deployed Engineer at Machinify do?
- As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Machinify, you'll work closely with customer teams to understand their challenges and build, configure, and deploy solutions on our AI-powered healthcare intelligence platform. This involves writing production code, designing data pipelines, and owning projects from concept to deployment, with a focus on driving tangible business outcomes.
- What kind of technical skills are most important for this role?
- Machinify looks for strong generalist engineering skills. You should be comfortable working across the full stack, including backend services, data engineering, frontend development, and infrastructure. While specific languages aren't critical, the ability to quickly learn new technologies is essential. Experience in data engineering, ML, or distributed systems is a plus.
- How does Machinify handle ambiguity and client needs?
- Machinify values high agency and a tolerance for ambiguity. Forward Deployed Engineers are expected to take initiative, make decisions, and ship solutions even without perfect specifications. You'll need strong customer instinct to ask the right questions, translate needs, and push back constructively when necessary, ensuring the solutions built truly address the problem.
- What is the travel expectation for a Forward Deployed Engineer at Machinify?
- The role involves significant customer interaction, often on-site. While the exact amount can vary, expect to travel between 25-50% of the time, depending on the specific client engagement. This travel is key to deeply understanding customer workflows and embedding within their teams.
- What makes the Forward Deployed Engineer role unique at Machinify?
- This role is unique because it sits at the intersection of product and customer problems, blurring the lines between implementation and core product development. You'll write production code that can directly influence the core Machinify platform and solve critical customer issues end-to-end, offering a high degree of impact and ownership.
- Does Machinify have specific language requirements for engineers?
- No, Machinify does not have strict language requirements. They value strong generalist engineering skills and the ability to pick up new languages quickly if the job requires it. The focus is on your problem-solving ability and adaptability across different technical domains.
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