Forward Deployed Engineer - Client Payroll

Interview Kickstart; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Interview Kickstart is seeking an experienced Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to work directly with enterprise customers on API management, AI connectivity, and complex system integrations. You’ll design and deliver production-ready solutions, build automation, and collaborate with customers' platform teams to accelerate modernization and adoption of cloud, on-prem, and hybrid architectures.

The role requires hands-on software development, strong communication, and the ability to own technical

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering, platform engineering, or related field.
• Hands-on development with APIs, integrations, or distributed systems.
• Experience with Kubernetes and cloud platforms; strong Linux networking and DevOps skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement API, distributed system, and cloud solutions across environments.
• Build automation frameworks, integrations, and migration tools for enterprise use.
• Collaborate with customer teams and executives to solve complex technical challenges.
• Develop deployment workflows, CI/CD integrations, scripts, and infra automation.
• Create technical documentation and reusable solutions; relay customer feedback for product improvements.

Skills

APIs & integrations

Distributed systems

Kubernetes

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Python/Go/Java/JS/Lua

DevOps / IaC tools

SRE / site reliability

Customer-facing engineering

Tools

Terraform

Docker

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Location: United States — Remote
Employment Type: Full-time

About the Opportunity

This is a full-time opportunity with a leading technology company focused on API management and AI connectivity.

We are looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to work directly with enterprise customers on technical implementations, platform modernization, automation, and complex engineering challenges. The role combines hands-on software development, technical problem-solving, and customer collaboration to deliver scalable, production-ready solutions.

Eligibility: U.S. citizenship is required to support government and public-sector customers.

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement solutions involving APIs, distributed systems, and cloud infrastructure across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

• Build software, automation frameworks, custom integrations, and migration tools for enterprise implementations.

• Collaborate with customer developers, platform engineers, architects, security teams, and executives to resolve complex technical challenges.

• Develop deployment workflows, CI/CD integrations, scripts, and infrastructure automation.

• Create technical documentation and reusable solutions while sharing customer feedback to support product improvements.

What You’ll Bring

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, site reliability engineering (SRE), professional services, or customer-facing engineering.

• Strong hands-on software development experience, including APIs, integrations, or distributed systems.

• Experience with Kubernetes, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP), Linux, networking, and DevOps practices.

• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, JavaScript, or Lua, with familiarity with automation, CI/CD, and Infrastructure-as-Code tools.

• Experience in API management, SaaS, middleware, open-source technologies, or infrastructure software is highly preferred.

Preferred Attributes

• Strong problem-solving skills and a hands-on builder mindset.

• Ability to work independently in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.

• Excellent customer communication, collaboration, and execution skills, with a strong sense of ownership.