Chapter Lead – Forward Deployed Engineering

NestAI; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Occupational healthcare

Team lunches & all-hands events

Mac or PC choice

Holiday allowance

Phone benefit

Job summary

NestAI in Helsinki/Tampere is hiring a Forward Deployed Chapter Lead to head a team of Forward Deployed Engineers, combining leadership with hands-on delivery on mission-critical AI systems deployed with customers and partners. You will set standards, mentor team members, and collaborate with Engineering, Product, and client stakeholders to align field feedback with roadmaps.

Occasional travel is required. NestAI offers healthcare, team events, hardware choices, holiday pay, and a focus on

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software delivery/engineering experience
• 3+ years in formal people management/leadership roles
• Proven experience in customer-facing engineering roles
• Ability to foster psychological safety and remove roadblocks
• Thrives in dynamic environments and can build team processes from the ground up
• Occasional travel to client sites
• Interest or background in AI, ML, robotics, or defence/aerospace is a strong plus

Responsibilities

• Lead a chapter of Forward Deployed Engineers with line management responsibilities.
• Define and nurture best practices, field methodologies, and deployment playbooks for customer-facing work.
• Spend time directly engaged in client initiatives, leading deployments and managing client relationships.
• Bridge between Product and Field; align field feedback with product roadmaps.
• Manage resource allocation across deployments while balancing engineer wellbeing and growth.

Skills

People leadership

Hiring & mentoring

Customer-facing delivery

Engineering practices

Travel flexibility

Job description

NestAI is a European AI lab for defence delivering the adaptive operating system for modern battlefield operations. We develop adaptive intelligence for unmanned and command systems: AI that continuously learns from operational data and adapts to changing conditions.

NestOS is our open, modular, and interoperable platform that enables this at scale and keeps capability evolution under sovereign European control. Founded in 2025 by Peter Sarlin, whose previous company Silo AI became Europe's largest AI acquisition, NestAI brings together over 150 engineers and scientists and partners with leading European defence forces and industry.

Role Description

We are looking for a Forward Deployed Chapter Lead to join our team full-time in the Helsinki or Tampere Metropolitan Areas.

In this role, you will lead and empower a talented team of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE) while remaining active in customer-facing delivery. You will combine people leadership with hands‑on operational involvement, ensuring our engineers thrive while deploying mission‑critical physical AI systems directly with our customers and partners.

You will bridge people management, organizational development, and high‑impact project execution. You will set the bar for engineering practices, mentor your chapter members through complex field deployments, and actively contribute to customer initiatives.

Day-to-day responsibilities include:

• People Leadership & Growth: Line management responsibility for a chapter of Forward Deployed Engineers. Drive recruitment, continuous coaching, performance development, and career growth for your team.
• Chapter Standards & Practices: Define and nurture best practices, field methodologies, and operational playbooks for customer‑facing deployment work.
• Hands‑on Delivery & Project Contribution: Spend time directly engaged in client initiatives, leading use‑case deployments, managing high‑stakes client relationships, and translating complex operational requirements into actionable engineering goals.
• Bridge between Product & Field: Collaborate closely with Engineering, Product Managers, and client stakeholders to align field feedback with product roadmaps.
• Resource & Capacity Management: Partner with delivery leadership to ensure optimal resource allocation across customer deployments while balancing engineer wellbeing and professional growth.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in software delivery/engineering, with at least 3+ years in formal people management/leadership roles within fast‑growing tech organizations.
• Strong track record of hiring, mentoring, and retaining high‑performing engineers who operate in complex, ambiguous customer environments.
• Proven experience in customer‑facing engineering roles (consulting, FDE, technical account delivery, or enterprise integrations).
• Ability to foster psychological safety, remove operational roadblocks, and create clear frameworks for engineers dealing with shifting client priorities.
• Thrives in dynamic environments. You know how to build people frameworks and team processes from the ground up.
• Ability to travel occasionally to client sites.
• Strong interest or prior background in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, robotics, or defence/aerospace technologies is a strong plus.

At NestAI, you’ll build meaningful, real‑world technology as part of a world‑class team of engineers, scientists, and experienced professionals. You’ll work on systems where reliability genuinely matters, contribute to Europe’s security and resilience, and solve problems that demand depth, trust, and craftsmanship.

If you want to build with purpose — and with leading experts in the field — you’ve come to the right place.

We offer a growing set of practical benefits to support your work and wellbeing, day to day:

• Occupational healthcare (currently provided by Mehiläinen)
• Regular team lunches and all‑hands events
• Your choice of Mac or PC
• Holiday allowance (50% of holiday salary)
• Phone benefit according to company policy (subscription and device)

We are continuously developing and expanding our benefits as we grow.

Practicalities

Employment is subject to applicable security screening (including SUPO, where required).

As a growing company, we have limited resources to support international relocation, and therefore NestAI is currently focusing on hiring talent already located in Finland. Remote work from abroad is unfortunately not possible for this position. Relocation within Europe might be an option - if it is an option for you as well, please bring the topic up in your cover letter!

NestAI is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all applicants based on their skills, experience, and potential.