Forward Deployed Engineer

Seekr; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Unlimited PTO

14 paid company holidays

Equity ownership (RSUs)

Job summary

Seekr seeks a Forward Deployed Engineer to embed with client teams, turning AI proofs of concept into robust production systems. You’ll deploy SeekrFlow, containerize apps, and orchestrate them across cloud, hybrid, and on‑prem environments, including SSO and secure service models.

You will design data pipelines, fine‑tune LLMs, and deploy agentic workflows, ensuring explainability and compliance while collaborating with technical and non‑technical stakeholders. Travel up to 50% may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or Data Science (advanced degree a plus).
• 6+ years in software, platform, or infrastructure engineering with a track record of deploying operating production systems.
• Experience deploying containerized apps to Kubernetes across multiple clouds and on-prem, with Docker and Helm.
• Proven experience designing and deploying production-grade agentic AI systems meeting security, compliance, and performance standards.
• Experience with monitoring, logging, and observability frameworks (Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Logfire).
• Experience with CI/CD, GitHub/GitLab, and IaC (Terraform, CloudFormation).
• Hands-on expertise with AI/ML and LLM frameworks (PyTorch, Hugging Face, LangChain, vLLM).
• Proficiency in Python, Java, C++, TypeScript/JavaScript or similar; ability to learn quickly.
• Ability to work with client stakeholders to translate needs into deployed solutions.
• Willingness to travel 25–50% depending on client and team needs.

Responsibilities

• Operationalizing AI PoCs by turning demos into production AI systems.
• Deploy SeekrFlow and agent apps in customer environments, including cloud and on-prem.
• Containerize and release microservices into Kubernetes clusters using Docker and Helm; manage upgrades.
• Configure platform authentication, including SSO (SAML/OIDC) and service authentication.
• Design and deploy data pipelines for LLM training, fine-tuning, and RAG apps.
• Fine-tune, evaluate, and deploy language models and agent workflows with grounding and compliance.
• Codify best practices into reusable playbooks and deployment accelerators.

Skills

AI/ML deployment

Kubernetes

Docker

Python

Team collaboration

Client liaison

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering/Math/Data Science

Tools

Docker

Helm

Kubernetes

Terraform

GitHub/GitLab

OpenTelemetry

Prometheus

Job description

Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) work alongside our clients, embedding with their teams to tackle their hardest technical and operational problems. You won’t just design solutions — you’ll deploy AI systems in production, applying large language models, fine‑tuning, and agentic workflows to unlock real business value.

With SeekrFlow, our platform for trustworthy, document‑grounded, agentic AI, you’ll transform how organizations leverage their data — building solutions that are explainable, scalable, and production‑ready. As an FDE, you’ll be on the front lines of AI adoption, shaping how enterprises bring advanced AI into their most critical missions.

Core Responsibilities

• Operationalizing AI PoCs by transforming demos and prototypes into robust, production‑grade AI systems.
• Deploying SeekrFlow and agent applications intro customer‑managed environments, containerizing and orchestrating them across cloud, hybrid, and on‑prem deployments (AWS, Azure, GCP, private cloud).
• Packaging, configuring, and releasing SeekrFlow’s containerized microservices into customer Kubernetes clusters using Docker and Helm, and managing versioned upgrades and rollbacks.
• Configuring authorization and identity for the platform, including SSO (SAML / OIDC) and service‑to‑service authentication.
• Designing and deploying data pipelines and retrieval frameworks that prepare enterprise data for LLM training, fine‑tuning, and RAG‑based applications.
• Fine‑tuning, evaluating, and deploying large language models and agentic workflows, ensuring outputs remain grounded, explainable, and compliant.
• Codifying best practices into reusable playbooks, evaluation frameworks, and deployment accelerators that scale AI adoption across industries.

In This Role We Value

• Capacity to continuously learn, operate independently, and make decisions with minimal guidance.
• Ability to work effectively in teams with both technical and non‑technical members, thriving in a fast‑paced, ever‑changing environment with evolving goals and user collaboration.
• Enthusiasm for tackling technical challenges creatively using data structures, storage systems, cloud infrastructure, front‑end frameworks, and other technical tools.
• Passion for leveraging large‑scale data to address significant business challenges.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or Data Science (advanced degree a plus).
• 6+ years in software, platform, or infrastructure engineering, with a track record of deploying operating production systems in customer or enterprise envrionments.
• Deep, hands‑on experience deploying containerized applications to Kubernetes across multiple cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI, or equivalents) and on‑prem, including Docker and Helm for packaging, configuration, and release.
• Proven experience designing, deploying, and maintaining production‑grade agentic AI systems that meet enterprise security, compliance, and performance standards
• Experience with monitoring, logging, and observability frameworks for deployed AI/ML systems (Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Logfire)
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, version control (GitHub/GitLab), and infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation, etc.).
• Hands‑on expertise with AI/ML and LLM frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, Hugging Face, LangChain, vLLM), including model fine‑tuning and agent deployment.
• Proficiency in at least one modern programming language (Python, Java, C++, TypeScript/JavaScript, or similar), with the ability to learn and adapt quickly.
• Ability to work directly with client stakeholders — technical teams, business leaders, and end users — to translate needs into deployed solutions.
• Willingness to travel 25–50%, depending on client and team needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiar with common graph databases and graph languages (e.g., Neo4j, AGE, SPARQL, Cypher)
• Familiarity with vector databases, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) architectures, and enterprise data integration patterns.
• Background in responsible AI practices and familiarity with Trustworthy AI principles.
• Experience building custom client‑facing applications or agentic workflows from prototype to scalable deployment.
• Familiar with front end frameworks (e.g., React) and capable of building insightful and engaging application front ends
• Strong communication skills — ability to present complex technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences.

The Seekr salary determination process takes into account a number of factors, including but not limited to geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories, relevant prior work experience, specific skills, education, and certifications. Seekr offers a competitive mix of compensation, learning and development opportunities, and benefits.

Key components of our benefits package include health insurance, unlimited PTO, paid leave, and retirement.

The proposed salary range for this position is:: $170,000 USD - $225,000 USD

About the Company

Seekr is a leader in explainable and trustworthy artificial intelligence designed to power mission‑critical decisions in enterprises, government, and regulated industries. SeekrFlow™, our end‑to‑end AI platform, provides secure, auditable AI solutions tailored to sectors where transparency, accuracy, and compliance are paramount. Available across cloud, on‑premises, and edge environments, SeekrFlow reduces bias, strengthens data integrity, and simplifies model oversight so organizations can rely on trusted AI decisions in high‑stakes settings that impact society’s most sensitive and vital systems. Trusted by leading enterprises and government agencies, we partner with defense, finance, telecom, and critical infrastructure leaders to enable AI solutions that drive real‑world results with unmatched transparency and control. We are a team of strategic thinkers and problem‑solvers tackling the toughest challenges facing critical infrastructure and global enterprises through best‑in‑class AI models and customer deployment. Our team operates with unwavering commitment to our core values and mission:

• We are driven by outcomes—our customers' success is what we strive for every day.
• We believe trust is earned, which is why we build explainability and transparency into the entire AI lifecycle.
• We take our responsibility to deliver secure AI seriously.
• We believe innovation drives progress—we are building the technologies that power the systems our society depends on.

Company Benefits

• Meaningful Mission & Impact - Work with a deeply talented, collaborative team solving some of the toughest AI challenges that matter.
• Equity Ownership – RSUs that let you share directly in Seekr’s long‑term success and growth.
• Time Off That Respects Real Life – Unlimited PTO plus 14 paid company holidays to truly recharge.
• Work Your Way – A flexible hybrid work environment with offices in Reston, VA and Austin, TX.
• Competitive Total Rewards – A role‑appropriate compensation structure that supports long‑term growth, including base salary, bonuses, or commission plans depending on role.
• 401(k) with Company Match – Build your future with a retirement plan that includes employer matching.
• Comprehensive Health & Wellness – Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage starting day one—for you and your family.
• Parental Leave – Paid parental leave to support employees as they welcome a new child through birth, adoption, or foster placement.

Important Notice

To conform to U.S. Government international trade regulations, applicant must be a U.S. Citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Department of Commerce.

Seekr is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.