Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Van Kaizen; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Van Kaizen is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to embed with engineering teams on-site in SoHo, NYC, with travel to other sites as needed. You will identify workflows where software delivers rapid leverage and ship AI-based tools in weeks rather than quarters.

You will work closely with frontend, backend, and infra teams (NextJS, Tailwind, Kotlin, Python, AWS, Pulumi) to design and implement end-to-end solutions, iterating in production with users and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Experience with frontend technologies like NextJS and Tailwind CSS.
• Backend technologies like Kotlin and Python.
• Infrastructure technologies like AWS and Pulumi.
• Curiosity for how things work in organizations, workflows, markets.
• Strong communication skills to earn trust with non-tech stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Embed inside acquired firms and work alongside engineers who may not have worked with a software company.
• Identify workflows where tech adds leverage and ship tools quickly (weeks, not quarters).
• Own outcomes end-to-end: discovery, build, deployment, prod debugging, and iterative live improvements.

Skills

NextJS

Tailwind CSS

Kotlin

Python

AWS

Pulumi

Curiosity

Communication

Tools

Pulumi

Job description

Rapidly growing startup that acquires profitable engineering firms is looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer, that will embed with their engineering teams directly on-site to ship AI tools!

To note: this is an on-site role in SoHo plus travel to engineering teams post-acquisition.

Responsibilities:

• Embed inside the firms they work with and site beside structural, civil, and manufacturing engineers who've often never worked with a software company
• Find the workflows where technology creates the most leverage, and ship tools that work in weeks, not quarters.
• Own outcomes end-to-end: discovery, build, deployment, debugging in prod, and iterating live with the people using it
• Work with the rest of the team to compound what you learned into universal product leverage for the company.
• Have a front-row seat to building a company from zero on a problem domain that's barely been touched by AI.

Qualifications:

• Experience with frontend technologies like NextJS and Tailwind CSS, Backend technologies like Kotlin and Python, and Infrastructure technologies like AWS and Pulumi
• Curiosity for how things work — an organization, a workflow, a market
• Not afraid to expose their ignorance and is constantly asking why
• Has the poise and communication skills to earn trust with people who've never worked with a tech company before.
• Able to sit with noisy, conflicting feedback from users and distill it into a clear opinion about what to build
• Low ego, high agency: no task is beneath you if it unblocks the deployment
• Is willing to get on a plane with us