Director of Forward Deployed Engineering

Vercel; New York, Austin, San Francisco (NY, TX, CA); Hybrid; USD 240,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

WFH budget

Mentorship program

Job summary

Vercel is seeking a Director of Forward Deployed Engineering to build and lead the FDE and Professional Services function. You will embed with strategic customers, define engagement models, and drive production deployments using Next.js and AI SDK.

The role reports to the VP of Field Engineering and requires hybrid work from San Francisco, Austin, or New York with three days in-office. You will shape team structure, delivery playbooks, and commercial models while staying hands-on in architecture

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering, forward deployed engineering, or technical consulting roles.
• Experience leading customer-facing engineering or delivery teams in a high-growth environment.
• Experience building or deploying LLM-powered applications and understanding model-driven product decisions.

Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and develop the Forward Deployed Engineering team, including hiring standards and compensation.
• Define the engagement model and delivery methodology for strategic customer engagements.
• Own delivery excellence from discovery to production deployment and stabilization.

Skills

Software engineering

Forward deployed engineering

Technical consulting

Team leadership

LLM-powered apps

Tools

Next.js

AI SDK

v0

Job description

Director of Forward Deployed Engineering

About Vercel:

Vercel is the agentic infrastructure company. We free people and agents to ship what’s next.

For more than a decade, Vercel has shaped how the web is built. As the team behind Next.js, v0, and AI SDK, we create products that help builders move from idea to production with speed, security, and exceptional developer experience.

Now, software is entering a new era, and the next generation of products will not just be used by people. They will be built, extended, and operated by agents.

We are building the platform for that future, trusted by companies like OpenAI, PayPal, Ramp, Supreme, and millions of developers worldwide. Whether you’re building our products, supporting our customers, growing our community, or shaping our story, you’ll help define what comes next.

About the Role:

We are looking for a Director of Forward Deployed Engineering to build and lead Vercel's Forward Deployed Engineering and Professional Services function. Forward Deployed Engineers embed directly with our most strategic customers to design, build, and ship production applications on Vercel using Next.js, AI SDK, and v0, taking projects from first prototype through production rollout. You will define how this function operates: the engagement model, the delivery methodology, the commercial structure, and the team itself.

You will report to the VP of Field Engineering. This is a hybrid position based in San Francisco, Austin or New York, with a required 3 days per week in office.

What You Will Do:

• Build, lead, and develop the Forward Deployed Engineering team, including hiring standards, training, career development, and compensation.
• Define the engagement model: how engagements are scoped, staffed, sequenced, and measured, and which accounts qualify for embedded support.
• Own delivery excellence for strategic customer engagements, from discovery and technical scoping through production deployment and stabilization.
• Establish the commercial model for professional services, including packaging, pricing, capacity planning, and resource allocation across competing customer priorities.
• Stay hands‑on where it matters: architecture reviews, system design, and unblocking critical engagements alongside your team.
• Define clear handoff protocols between Forward Deployed Engineering, Sales Engineering, Customer Success, and partners.
• Codify field learnings into repeatable playbooks, reference architectures, and delivery patterns that scale beyond individual engagements.
• Synthesize customer insights into product feedback for Engineering and Product, and report delivery outcomes and customer impact to Field Engineering and executive leadership.

About You:

• 10+ years in software engineering, forward deployed engineering, or technical consulting roles, with at least 5 years leading customer‑facing engineering or delivery teams in a high‑growth environment.
• Experience building a team, function, or service line from zero, including hiring, methodology, and operating model.
• Experience building or deploying LLM‑powered applications and an understanding of how model behavior shapes product decisions.
• Commercial acumen: you have scoped, priced, and delivered technical engagements for enterprise customers and understand utilization, margin, and capacity tradeoffs.
• Demonstrated success embedding with customer engineering teams to deliver complex production systems.

Bonus If You:

• Have built with Vercel, Next.js, AI SDK, or v0.
• Have led forward deployed or embedded engineering teams at an AI‑native or developer platform company.
• Have owned a professional services P&L or defined services pricing and packaging from scratch.
• Are comfortable representing the function externally at conferences, customer executive briefings, or large‑scale events.
• Competitive compensation package, including equity.
• Learn and Grow - we provide mentorship and send you to events that help you build your network and skills.
• Flexible Time Off.
• We will provide you the gear you need to do your role, and a WFH budget for you to outfit your space as needed.

Compensation

The San Francisco, CA base pay range for this role is $240,000 -$300,000 plus bonus. Actual salary will be based on job‑related skills, experience, and location. Compensation outside of San Francisco may be adjusted based on employee location. The total compensation package may include benefits, equity‑based compensation, and eligibility for a company bonus or variable pay program depending on the role. Your recruiter can share more details during the hiring process.

Vercel is committed to fostering and empowering an inclusive community within our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Vercel encourages everyone to apply for our available positions, even if they don't necessarily check every box on the job description.