Forward Deployed Engineer I

Ascent Developer Solutions LLC; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plans

Dental plans

Health savings account

Flexible spending accounts

Vision coverage

401(k) plan

Job summary

Ascent Developer Solutions LLC seeks a Forward Deployed Engineer to embed with business teams and build AI-powered automations for real estate lending workflows. You’ll write production code, drive security reviews, and support deployments, reporting to the Head of Technology.

This engineering role emphasizes building scalable solutions within existing platform integrations. Ideal candidates have 1–3 years of coding experience, proficiency in Python/TypeScript and SQL, and hands-on work with LLM

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 1–3 years of professional coding experience in software engineering, automation, data engineering, or technical analysis.
• Proficiency in Python or TypeScript and SQL; experience with REST APIs and unstructured data.
• Hands-on experience with LLM APIs, prompting, structured outputs, and document extraction.
• Daily use of AI coding tools with validation via tests.
• Familiarity with loop engineering—agent workflows that act, check results, and escalate when needed.
• Ability to explain technical ideas to non-technical colleagues.
• Systems thinking: understand how changes affect data, systems, and people.
• Organized writer; deliverables include workflow maps and specs.
• Interest in financial services; exposure to lending/real estate is a plus.
• Experience with OutSystems or low-code platforms, and Jira is a plus.
• Portfolio or GitHub with shipped work preferred.

Responsibilities

• Embed with a business team to learn workflows by doing and sign off on outputs.
• Document workflows inputs, systems, decisions, handoffs, and exceptions in a standard format.
• Build and ship production automations for well-defined workflows.
• Collaborate with Platform Engineering to run automations on the existing platform.
• Write specifications and acceptance criteria for core lending platform work.
• Write tests and docs; pass through code reviews, security, and AI governance gates.
• Ensure least-privilege identities, audit logs, and human review for loan decisions.
• Measure time and error rates before/after automations and report results.
• Train users on new automations and fix issues promptly.
• Monitor runbooks and handle failures; provide status updates to leadership.

Skills

Python/TypeScript

SQL

LLM APIs

AI coding tools

Agent workflows

Explain technical ideas

Systems thinking

Workflow specs

Interest in financial services

Communication with non-technical

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

OutSystems

Microsoft 365/SharePoint

Jira

Job description

Ascent Developer Solutions is a leading private lending platform, serving real estate developers nationwide in the acquisition, renovation, and construction of residential real estate. Founded by a leadership team with a deep understanding and personal experience in virtually every facet of real estate development, Ascent is uniquely positioned to create custom, innovative lending solutions for a variety of real estate development business strategies.

The Role

Ascent Developer Solutions is hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer to build software for the most complex workflows in real estate lending. You’ll embed with the business teams who run those workflows, learn them in detail, and build AI-powered tools alongside them that scale their expertise as we grow. This is an engineering role first: you’ll write production code, take it through security review, and support it after launch. You’ll report directly to the Head of Technology, and your scope will grow with every project you deliver.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Embed with an assigned business team and learn the work by doing it alongside them.
• Document workflows step by step – inputs, systems, decisions, handoffs, and exceptions – including what happens upstream and downstream, in a standard format the team reviews and signs off on.
• Build and ship production automations for well-defined workflows.
• Work with Platform Engineering so each automation runs on the existing platform – shared data, integrations, and monitoring – and fits the systems already in place rather than standing alone.
• Write clear specifications and acceptance criteria for work that belongs in the core lending platform, and hand them to Platform Engineering.
• Write tests and documentation for each automation, and take it through code review and the security and AI governance gate before it reaches production.
• Build with least-privilege agent identities, audit logging, and human review for any output that affects a loan decision or a disbursement of funds.
• Measure time and error rates before and after each automation, and report the results.
• Train users on new automations, gather feedback, and fix issues quickly after launch.
• Monitor shipped automations, respond to failures, and maintain runbooks so the business team knows how to handle exceptions.

GENERAL DUTIES

• Learn the lending business, from application through payoff, well enough to spot automation opportunities others miss.
• Bring automation ideas to the Forward Deployed Engineer II and the Head of Technology with a rough estimate of hours saved.
• Partner with Data & Analytics on data definitions and data-quality issues found in the field.
• Contribute reusable components to shared libraries.
• Follow engineering standards, including version control, code review, automated testing, and change management.
• Protect borrower data in line with company security policies and the AI Use Policy, and raise risks early.
• Keep workflow maps, specifications, runbooks, and change logs current.
• Provide regular status updates to department leaders and the Head of Technology.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 1–3 years of professional experience writing code that real users relied on – in software engineering, automation, data engineering, or a technical analyst role with substantial coding.
• Working proficiency in Python or TypeScript and SQL, plus experience with REST APIs and unstructured data.
• Hands‑on experience building with LLM APIs – prompting, structured outputs, and document extraction – in professional or personal projects.
• Daily use of AI coding tools, with the habit of verifying their output with tests.
• Familiarity with loop engineering – agent workflows that act, check their own results, and stop or elevate to a person at the right point.
• Asks good questions before building, and can explain a technical idea to a non-technical colleague.
• Thinks in systems: considers how a change in one workflow affects the data, systems, and people around it.
• Organized, detail-oriented writer – workflow maps and specifications are deliverables in this role, not afterthoughts.
• Interest in financial services; exposure to lending, real estate, construction, or accounting a plus.
• Experience with OutSystems or another low-code platform, Microsoft 365/SharePoint, or Jira a plus.
• Portfolio, GitHub profile, or other examples of shipped work strongly preferred.

The Pay

Salary range is $90,000 to $105,000, with a discretionary bonus of 15% per year

The Work Environment

• This role works on-site from Ascent's Encino office, Monday - Thursday (Fridays are work-from-home).

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, well-being, and work-life balance. Our benefits include four health plans, two dental plans, health savings account with employer contribution, flexible spending accounts, vision coverage, a 401(k) plan, and other optional benefits from which to choose.

Our Pledge

We pledge to be fair and considerate in hiring and promoting individuals, ensuring everyone can contribute their fullest potential regardless of background, identity, or personal circumstances. By promoting equal opportunity, we not only enhance our workplace but also contribute to a more just and equitable society. At Ascent, we stand united in building a community where everyone is empowered to succeed. Thank you for joining us on our journey towards a more inclusive future.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Ascent Developer Solutions’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.