Forward Deployed AI Engineer

Avathon; Pleasanton (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in the form of stock options

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) participation

Generous PTO and company holidays

Ongoing learning and development opportunities

Job summary

Avathon is seeking a Forward Deployed AI Engineer to deliver high-stakes deployments and design production-grade AI applications in Pleasanton, California. The role involves directly working with operators to solve complex operational problems and requires strong AI/ML experience, programming skills, and a STEM degree. Offering competitive salary range of $130,000 to $180,000 along with equity and benefits. Ideal candidates value real-world application and problem-solving in the field, with the possibility of up to 50% travel.

Qualifications

• Experience building AI/ML applications in production.
• Strong foundation in machine learning, optimization, and system design.
• Excellent problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of high-stakes deployments in operational environments.
• Design and implement Avathon’s Computational Knowledge Graph (CKG).
• Work side-by-side with operators and stakeholders to define problems.

Skills

Building AI/ML applications

Machine learning

Optimization

System design

Programming languages (Python, Java, C++, etc.)

Problem-solving

Education

Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering

Job description

Who We Are & Why Join Us

Avathon is the leading Industrial AI autonomy platform, helping customers across heavy industries – energy, mining, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and logistics – accelerate the journey toward autonomous operations.

Our platform is built on a Computational Knowledge Graph foundation that contextualizes and connects operational data across siloed systems, bringing together time series, structured, unstructured, and machine vision data to power AI‑driven applications in asset performance management, supply chain intelligence, visual AI, and global trade management. With capabilities spanning digital twins, normal behavior modeling, natural language processing, and computer vision, Avathon delivers real‑time predictive intelligence and agentic decision‑making at industrial scale.

Cutting‑Edge AI Innovation – Join a team at the forefront of AI, developing groundbreaking solutions that shape the future.

High‑Growth Environment – Thrive in a fast‑scaling startup where agility, collaboration, and rapid professional growth are the norm.

Meaningful Impact – Work on AI‑driven projects that drive real change across industries and improve lives.

Learn more at: avathon.com

About The Role

As the only physical AI unicorn headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, we go beyond models and dashboards to deploy AI that continuously computes across supply chains, energy systems, and industrial operations. Our Operational Technology platform turns fragmented data into real‑time, autonomous decisioning across the systems that power the global economy.

This is not digital AI. This is AI for operational reality where latency, constraints, and failure have real‑world consequences.

The Role

Forward Deployed AI Engineers at Avathon are rewiring how the physical world operates. You will work directly with customers to take the hardest operational problems – multi‑echelon supply chains, constrained production systems, global logistics networks – and turn them into continuously computing, AI‑led systems.

You will design, build, and deploy production‑grade AI applications that operate across real‑world infrastructure where decisions propagate across thousands of nodes in real time.

What you will do: Responsibilities

• Own end‑to‑end delivery of high‑stakes deployments in operational environments
• Design and implement Avathon’s Computational Knowledge Graph (CKG) that unifies data, constraints, and decisioning, performing continuous computation across physical networks
• Replace static planning workflows with real‑time, autonomous execution applications
• Work side‑by‑side with operators, planners, and key stakeholders to define problems and deliver solutions
• Push systems into production that directly control and influence real‑world operations
• Drive product evolution by feeding field learnings into Avathon’s core platform

Preferred Skills

• Experience building AI/ML applications in production
• Strong foundation in machine learning, optimization, and system design
• Exceptional inferencing skills in applying necessary models in the field
• Demonstrated proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, C++, TypeScript/JavaScript, or similar
• Ability to reason complex, interconnected systems (supply chains, networks, infrastructure)
• Ability to move from problem to architecture to deployment without handoffs

We Value

• Engineers who build systems and tune industrial models
• Comfort operating in ambiguity, pressure, and high‑stakes environments
• Willingness to work directly with customers and operate in real‑world environments
• Travel to customer sites (up to 50%)

Qualifications

• Master’s (preferred) or bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering
• An active U.S. Government security clearance (preferred)
• Excellent problem‑solving, critical thinking, and communication skills

Compensation & Benefits

• California Base Salary Range: $130,000 – $180,000 USD (based on experience)
• Equity in the form of stock options
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) participation
• Generous PTO and company holidays
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future company sponsorship.

Location

Reporting out of Avathon’s HQ in Pleasanton (San Francisco Bay Area), California.

Avathon is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Avathon is committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us to discuss how we can assist you.