Forward Deployed Engineer

Theory Ventures; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

BackOps AI seeks a Forward Deployed Engineer in San Francisco to join our engineering team and work directly with customers to deploy adaptive AI-driven systems in real-world operations. The role blends systems building with client collaboration in a hybrid setup, delivering immediate production impact.

You will own projects from discovery through deployment, translating field insights into robust software that connects our AI platform with customer infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Strong full-stack development skills (Python, JavaScript, or similar).
• Experience in customer-facing, client delivery, or partner-facing roles.
• Ability to thrive in fast-moving, resource-constrained, startup environments.
• Fast learner who can adapt quickly to new tools, domains, and requirements.
• High ownership mindset with the ability to take problems from discovery through deployment.
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Partner deeply with customers and operators to understand real-world workflows and operational complexity.
• Translate on-the-ground insights into system behavior and product improvements.
• Scope, design, and deploy adaptive AI agents that evolve with customer environments.
• Build and integrate production-ready applications that connect our AI platform to customer infrastructure.
• Develop demos, prototypes, and workflows that showcase how adaptive agents solve real operational problems.
• Debug edge cases in live deployments and turn learnings into actionable product intelligence.
• Ensure reliability, safety, and performance of AI agents operating in fast-moving, high-stakes environments.
• Build trusted, long-term customer relationships where both you and the deployed systems grow alongside the customer.

Skills

Full-stack dev

Customer-facing

Startup experience

Communication

Ownership mindset

Job description

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco

Engineering

In office

Full-time

ABOUT BACKOPS AI

BackOps AI transforms supply-chain operations with agentic AI that automates complex workflows, freeing teams to focus on what matters most. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, we foster a culture of innovation, ownership, and measurable impact.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We’re hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer to sit at the intersection of engineering, customer partnership, and real-world operations at BackOps. This role works directly with customers and operators to deploy adaptive, AI-driven systems into live environments—and evolve them alongside the business.

This is a hybrid role for builders who love both systems and people. You’ll operate close to the customer, tackle real-world complexity, and see the immediate impact of your work in production.

What You’ll Do

• Partner deeply with customers and operators to understand real-world workflows and operational complexity.
• Translate on-the-ground insights into system behavior and product improvements.
• Scope, design, and deploy adaptive AI agents that evolve with customer environments.
• Build and integrate production-ready applications that connect our AI platform to customer infrastructure.
• Develop demos, prototypes, and workflows that showcase how adaptive agents solve real operational problems.
• Debug edge cases in live deployments and turn learnings into actionable product intelligence.
• Ensure reliability, safety, and performance of AI agents operating in fast-moving, high-stakes environments.
• Build trusted, long-term customer relationships where both you and the deployed systems grow alongside the customer.
• This is neither a pure engineering role nor a pure consulting role—it’s a high-ownership, end-to-end role built for curiosity, adaptability, and impact.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong full-stack development skills (Python, JavaScript, or similar).
• Experience in customer-facing, client delivery, or partner-facing roles.
• Ability to thrive in fast-moving, resource-constrained, startup environments.
• Fast learner who can adapt quickly to new tools, domains, and requirements.
• High ownership mindset with the ability to take problems from discovery through deployment.
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Nice to Have

• Experience deploying LLMs, multimodal models, or generative AI systems.
• Background in NLP, agentic systems, or multi-agent architectures.
• Experience in sales engineering, pre-sales, or customer success engineering.
• Exposure to operationally complex industries (logistics, hospitality, retail, supply chain, etc.).
• Strong empathy and curiosity for understanding how real businesses operate.
• Comfort working in environments where requirements evolve week to week.

Why BackOps

• Deploy AI systems into real-world operations with immediate, visible impact.
• Work at the frontier of adaptive, agent-based AI in production environments.
• Partner directly with customers and founders on meaningful problems.
• Join a small, high-performing team with significant ownership and autonomy.
• Backed by exceptional investors and advisors.