Forward Deployed Engineer I

Madison-Davis, LLC; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Madison-Davis, LLC is seeking Forward Deployed Engineers to embed with Finance, Operations, Risk, and other business units in Chicago. You will scope problems in the room, prototype quickly, and ship production-grade solutions with direct business impact.

This Level I role emphasizes hands-on building with executive exposure and a fast feedback loop. A Level II option exists for deeper architecture and AI experience.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience with stakeholder-facing work
• Proficient in Python and/or TypeScript; fluency in at least one other language
• Strong SQL and data modeling experience
• Hands-on integration work with REST/GraphQL APIs, webhooks, and event-driven patterns
• Cloud experience (AWS/Azure/GCP) and CI/CD, containerized deployments
• Clear, concise written and verbal communication for executives

Responsibilities

• Embed with business units to translate problems into scoped technical solutions
• Design and build integrations, automations, and data flows across the stack
• Rapid prototyping and early user validation to land in production quickly
• Develop internal products, data models, APIs, and lightweight front ends
• Collaborate with platform security and infra teams through review processes
• Own end-to-end solution delivery and hand off to permanent teams
• Document builds and transition ownership as solutions mature
• Advise senior leadership on when not to build and how to proceed

Skills

5+ years software engineering

Stakeholder facing

Python

TypeScript

SQL

REST/GraphQL

Cloud

CI/CD

Communication

Production ready

Job description

A large financial services organization is building out a Forward Deployed Engineering capability to accelerate delivery across its corporate application landscape and internal product roadmap. Unlike traditional platform engineering roles, Forward Deployed Engineers embed directly with business stakeholders — Finance, Operations, Risk, Compliance, and revenue-facing lines of business — to scope problems in the room, prototype quickly, and ship production-grade solutions.

This is a builder role with unusually high visibility. You will spend as much time with business owners as you do in an IDE, and your work will be measured by the outcomes it produces for the business, not by tickets closed.

This posting is for the Level I role, sized for engineers who are strong builders and are growing into full stakeholder ownership. A Level II position is open in parallel for candidates with deeper architecture and applied AI experience.

What You'll Do:

• Embed with business units to translate ambiguous operational problems into scoped, buildable technical solutions
• Design and build integrations, automations, and data flows across the corporate application stack (CRM, HCM, ITSM, ERP, and internal platforms)
• Rapidly prototype, validate with users, and iterate toward production — often in days, not quarters
• Build net-new internal products and tooling from zero, including data models, APIs, and lightweight front ends
• Partner with core platform, security, and infrastructure teams to bring solutions through architecture review, security review, and production hardening
• Own solutions end to end: build, deploy, instrument, monitor, and support
• Document builds and transition ownership to permanent internal teams as solutions mature
• Serve as the technical voice in the room with senior business leadership, including recommending when not to build

Required:

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, including 2+ years in a stakeholder-facing or embedded capacity (Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Solutions Architect, Implementation Engineer, or technical consulting)
• Strong proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript; working fluency in at least one additional language (Java, C#, Go)
• Strong SQL and practical data modeling experience
• Hands-on integration work with REST/GraphQL APIs, webhooks, and event-driven patterns
• Cloud experience (AWS, Azure, or GCP), CI/CD pipelines, and containerized deployment
• Demonstrated ability to operate with incomplete requirements and drive clarity independently
• Excellent written and verbal communication; comfortable presenting to non-technical executives

Preferred:

• Experience in financial services, banking, insurance, or asset management, particularly in regulated data environments (SOX, GLBA, PCI, or model risk governance)
• Familiarity with enterprise SaaS platforms and iPaaS tooling (Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow, MuleSoft, Boomi, Workato)
• Modern data platform experience (Snowflake, Databricks, dbt)
• Prior experience on a formally designated Forward Deployed or Deployed Engineering team

Why This Role:

• Direct line of sight from your code to business impact — no layers of translation
• Greenfield function with input into how the team, standards, and delivery model are built
• Broad technical surface area across integration, data, applied AI, and product development
• Executive exposure from day one
• Defined progression path to Level II as scope and ownership grow