Forward Deployed Engineer

Runlayer; New York, San Francisco (NY, CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

Paid time off

Professional development

Top-tier equipment

Health benefits

Customer interaction opportunities

Job summary

Runlayer, a platform for MCPs, Skills, and Agents, is seeking a Forward-Deployed Engineer who will own the technical side of customer GTM. You will run POCs, troubleshoot integrations, and collaborate with enterprise customers to get them live.

This role blends pre-sales depth with hands-on engineering, requiring strong communication with executives, architecture discussions, and the ability to design custom configurations when standard paths don’t fit.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of FDE / SA / SE experience with a CS background
• Background in solutions engineering, pre-sales, or consulting with real technical depth
• Hands-on experience building AI agents
• Depth in at least one area relevant to our space: identity and auth, MCP, agent frameworks, security, deployment, networking, observability
• AI-native workflow
• Executive presence
• High agency

Responsibilities

• Own POC outcomes for enterprise customers.
• Run pre-sales technical deep dives, demos, and architecture discussions.
• Troubleshoot integrations across customer environments (identity, security, networking).
• Build custom configurations and one-off solutions when the standard path doesn't fit.
• Run technical onboarding sessions and adoption workshops.
• Be the technical expert in the room during sales cycles, handling stump questions from senior engineers.

Job description

About Runlayer

AI is transforming how every company operates, but most enterprises are stuck. They want to move fast with AI Agents, tools, and workflows, but they can't do it safely. We're fixing that.

Our team built AI Actions for OpenAI, shipped Zapier Agents to millions of users, and launched the first remote MCP server with Anthropic. We helped establish the protocol, and now we're building the platform enterprises need to actually put AI to work.

Runlayer is one platform for MCPs, Skills, and Agents: purpose-built security, fine-grained governance, and complete observability so organizations can go all-in on AI across the entire company without the risk. We just raised a $30M Series A led by Felicis, with participation from Khosla Ventures, bringing our total raised to $42M. Already trusted by Gusto, Instacart, Opendoor, dbt Labs, and Decagon.

About the Role

As our Forward-Deployed Engineer, you'll own the technical side of customer GTM at Runlayer. You'll run POCs, troubleshoot integrations, and work closely with enterprise customers to get them live.

Why You'll Thrive Here

• Impact: if a POC ships, you made it happen. You're directly responsible for turning prospects into customers.

• Excellence: work alongside experienced engineers at the intersection of enterprise sales and deep technical work.

• Ownership: own customer outcomes end-to-end, from first technical deep dive through full deployment.

What You'll Do

• Own POC outcomes for enterprise customers.

• Run pre-sales technical deep dives, demos, and architecture discussions.

• Troubleshoot integrations across customer environments (identity, security, networking).

• Build custom configurations and one-off solutions when the standard path doesn't fit.

• Run technical onboarding sessions and adoption workshops.

• Be the technical expert in the room during sales cycles, handling stump questions from senior engineers.

What We're Looking for

• 5+ years of FDE / SA / SE experience with a CS background

• Background in solutions engineering, pre-sales, or consulting with real technical depth. You can write and debug production code independently, not just run demos.

• Hands-on experience building AI agents. You can talk through architecture, memory, and tool design.

• Depth in at least one area relevant to our space: identity and auth, MCP, agent frameworks, security, deployment, networking, observability, etc

• AI-native workflow. You use AI to build, not just to prompt.

• Executive presence. You can walk into a room of senior technical executives and hold the conversation.

• High agency. You solve problems with high ownership and the drive to make sure a solution is delivered.

Bonus Qualifications

• Prior solutions, pre-sales, or forward-deployed role at a high-growth B2B startup.

• Open-source contributions or content in agent, identity, or policy spaces

What We Offer

We provide a competitive package designed to attract and retain top talent who can work effectively with enterprise customers.

• Competitive salary and equity — compensation that reflects your expertise and customer-facing responsibilities.

• Paid time off — paid vacation, paid sick leave, and paid parental leave.

• Professional development — budget for conferences, courses, and certifications in AI, enterprise software, and customer success.

• Top-tier equipment — your choice of laptop and accessories to create your ideal work environment.

• Health benefits — comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.

• Customer interaction opportunities — work directly with innovative companies and see the immediate impact of your work.