Senior Forward Deployed Engineer (Optimization)

superlinear; Brussel Hoofdstad; On-site; EUR 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health insurance

Group insurance

Meal/eco vouchers

Transport coverage

Internet allowance

Additional Superlinear holidays

Job summary

Superlinear is looking for a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer focused on Optimization to drive end-to-end ownership of complex deployment challenges. This role integrates optimization with software engineering and enterprise systems, ensuring scalable and impactful solutions.

Candidates should have a Master’s or PhD in a quantitative field and over 5 years of experience delivering optimization systems in production. The position offers competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and the chance to work alongside experts in optimization and AI.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience delivering optimization or decision-support systems in production.
• Experience working in operationally complex environments (e.g., logistics, manufacturing).
• Ability to reason at both implementation and architectural levels.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of complex deployment challenges and work hands-on at the intersection of optimization.
• Design and deploy scalable optimization systems impacting operational decisions.
• Mentor Forward Deployed Engineers through code reviews and technical discussions.

Skills

Optimization techniques

Python engineering skills

APIs

Data pipelines

DevOps practices

Education

Master’s or PhD in a quantitative field

Job description

Enterprise productivity across Europe is under pressure. As complexity increases through geopolitical shifts, labour constraints, and tighter operational interdependencies, many organisations observe that AI and optimization efforts improve local efficiency but fail to deliver structural, enterprise-level gains.

At Superlinear, we work on this gap through enterprise orchestration: enabling better system‑level decision‑making across people, processes, and machines in environments where siloed optimization no longer works.

In our earliest pilots with leading European enterprises, we observe that moving from local optimization to coordinated, enterprise‑wide decisions can unlock significant latent capacity. Productivity gains in the range of 10–30% are achievable by reducing systemic friction rather than adding infrastructure.

The 500 largest European enterprises represent roughly €14 trillion in economic output. Enabling even a fraction of them to structurally improve productivity would have impact beyond individual companies.

This is a long‑term effort that requires rigor, restraint, and people who care deeply about their craft, take responsibility for outcomes, and are comfortable working on complex, high‑stakes systems. This role offers the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the foundations of enterprise orchestration in Europe’s most critical organisations.

That’s why we are hiring a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer with a focus on Optimization.

The Role

As a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer (Optimization), you take end‑to‑end ownership of complex deployment challenges. You work hands‑on at the intersection of optimization, software engineering, and enterprise systems, embedding with clients to ensure that decision‑making solutions are not only technically sound, but adopted, scalable, and impactful.

You are a senior member of the team: still deeply involved in implementation, but increasingly responsible for technical direction, quality, and coherence across deployments. You help shape how we build and deploy, not just what we deliver.

What You’ll Build

Optimization‑driven solutions with real‑world impact

• Design and deploy scalable optimization systems (planning, scheduling, allocation, routing) that directly influence operational decisions
• Translate functional analyses into robust technical solutions, while challenging complexity that does not materially improve outcomes
• Take ownership of end‑to‑end problem resolution, coordinating stakeholders to converge on effective solutions
• Balance optimality, maintainability, scalability, and time‑to‑impact in production environments

Production‑grade engineering & architecture

• Make regular, meaningful contributions across the stack, including APIs, data integrations, CI/CD, and infrastructure components
• Coordinate solutions at an architectural level, ensuring alignment with our platform’s guiding principles
• Identify, track, and plan the resolution of technical debt, explaining trade‑offs and business impact clearly
• Promote consistent implementation patterns across clients to improve reliability and speed of delivery

Code quality, planning & technical leadership

• Promote high code quality through reviews, standards, and pragmatic guidance
• Actively participate in sprint planning and prioritisation, balancing short‑term impact with long‑term maintainability
• Help others choose straightforward, effective solutions over unnecessary complexity
• Use AI tooling thoughtfully to accelerate development and help others do the same

Mentorship, feedback & continuous improvement

• Mentor Forward Deployed Engineers through code reviews, technical discussions, and follow‑up
• Encourage and structure feedback loops from deployments into the Product team and Superlinear Playbook
• Maintain a holistic understanding of the platform’s stack and how it interacts with diverse client environments
• Foster a safe, meritocratic decision‑making environment where ideas are evaluated on evidence and impact

Essential Experience

• Master’s or PhD in a quantitative field such as applied mathematics, computer science, operations research or physics
• 5+ years of experience delivering optimization or decision‑support systems in production; proven track record of owning complex technical problems end to end
• Experience working in operationally complex environments (e.g. logistics, manufacturing, mobility, infrastructure)

Technical Skills That Matter

• Strong background in optimization techniques (Constraint Programming, LP, MILP, heuristics, metaheuristics)
• Solid Python engineering skills and experience integrating models into production systems
• Experience with APIs, data pipelines, and modern DevOps practices
• Ability to reason at both implementation and architectural level

Mindset & Approach

• Ownership‑driven: you take responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks
• Pragmatic: you optimize for real impact, not theoretical perfection
• Clear communicator who can explain why decisions are made; comfortable challenging assumptions, constructively and respectfully
• Motivated by helping others grow and improving how the team works

Bonus Points

• Experience scaling optimization solutions across multiple clients or domains
• Exposure to industrial operations (ports, airports, manufacturing, logistics, energy)
• Experience mentoring engineers toward seniority
• Interest in shaping development practices, tooling, or playbooks at team level

Why This Role Matters

As a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer you shape how optimization becomes a trusted, scalable capability inside Europe’s most critical enterprises. Your decisions influence not only individual deployments, but the quality, consistency, and credibility of everything we ship.

You play a key role in turning local improvements into coordinated, system‑level impact, while helping other engineers grow into stronger, more confident contributors.

What We Offer

• Impact: Work on optimization systems that reshape real operations at scale
• Ownership: A senior IC role with real influence on technical and delivery decisions
• Growth: Clear progression toward Staff‑level impact for those who want it
• Collaboration: Build closely with a highly skilled Brussels‑based team (next to Central Station)
• Compensation: Competitive salary with performance‑based incentives
• Benefits: Comprehensive health insurance, group insurance, meal/eco vouchers, transport coverage, internet allowance, and additional Superlinear holidays
• Tools: MacBook Pro, Codex, Cursor, and best‑in‑class engineering tools
• Team: Collaborate with experts in optimization, AI, and enterprise systems

Ready to own optimization where it matters most?

If you’re excited about delivering decision systems that hold up in the real world and helping others do the same, we’d love to hear from you.

Join us in building optimization solutions that power the next generation of intelligent enterprise systems.