Forward Deployed Engineer, Lead - AI Engineer

Sierra Ventures; New York, San Francisco (NY, CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top-tier compensation

Stock options

Health & wellness

Meals provided in office

Parental leave 22 weeks

Unlimited PTO (US)

Visa sponsorship

Team building events

Job summary

Reflection seeks an exceptional Forward Deployed Engineer Lead to drive end-to-end technical strategy and delivery of agentic applications across hybrid environments. You will bridge cutting-edge AI research with real-world deployments and own scalability, reliability, and performance.

You will partner with Deployment Strategists and Sales, adapt models for client needs, and mentor a growing team while shaping engineering playbooks and standards.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of software engineering experience, including 2+ years in a technical leadership capacity delivering AI-driven enterprise solutions.
• Strong software engineering background with production-grade systems in Python and TypeScript.
• Experience deploying enterprise software in cloud or hybrid environments using modern DevOps practices.
• Customer-facing experience with understanding user needs and delivering tangible outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Deployment Strategists and Sales to understand enterprise needs and architect solutions.
• Architect and build complex agentic systems with state-of-the-art models and deep enterprise integration.
• Collaborate with research teams to adapt models for customer needs and contribute to inference and evaluation codebases.
• Own end-to-end deployments across hybrid environments (cloud, VPC, on-premises) for production scalability.
• Define playbooks, best practices, and mentorship to scale the Forward Deployed Engineering team.

Skills

Python

TypeScript

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD

LLM workflows

Agent orchestration

Tools

Vector databases

RAG pipelines

Inference engines

Job description

Our Mission

Reflection is a research lab making intelligence open and accessible for everyone to use, customize, and build on. We build open models that let anyone control their intelligence and help shape the future of AI. Our mission: make intelligence open and accessible to all.

Role Overview

We’re seeking an exceptional technical lead to build and scale Reflection’s Forward Deployed Engineering function within the AI Solutions team. This team plays a critical role in bridging our cutting‑edge AI research with real‑world enterprise deployments. As a Forward Deployed Engineer Lead, you will own the end‑to‑end technical strategy, execution, and delivery of complex agentic applications, from early pre‑sales discovery through production deployment.

What You'll Do

• Partner with Deployment Strategists and Sales to understand enterprise customer needs, architect solutions, and develop transformative agentic applications.

• Architect and build complex agentic systems using state‑of‑the‑art models, orchestrating sophisticated LLM workflows and integrating deeply with enterprise infrastructure.

• Collaborate with research teams to adapt and fine‑tune models for customer‑specific needs, contributing to our internal codebase for inference, fine‑tuning, and evaluation.

• Own end‑to‑end deployments across hybrid environments (public cloud, VPC, and on‑premises), ensuring production‑grade scalability, performance, and reliability.

• Shape and scale the Forward Deployed Engineering organization by defining playbooks, best practices, technical standards, and mentorship to support team growth.

What We're Looking For

• Strong software engineering background with experience shipping production‑grade systems (Python, Typescript)

• Proven track record of deploying enterprise software in cloud or hybrid environments using modern DevOps practices (Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD).

• Deep understanding of machine learning concepts and hands‑on experience with modern AI stacks, including vector databases, RAG pipelines, agent orchestration, evaluations, and fine‑tuning.

• 6+ years of software engineering experience, including 2+ years in a technical leadership capacity delivering AI‑driven enterprise solutions (e.g., Lead Forward Deployed Engineer, Tech Lead, or Engineering Manager).

• Demonstrated ability and interest to work in customer‑facing environments, understanding user needs, architecting solutions for real business problems, and delivering tangible outcomes.

• Self‑starter with high agency and ownership, excelling in fast‑paced startup environments where playbooks are still being written.

What We Offer:

We believe that to make intelligence open and accessible to all, you need to start at the foundation. Joining Reflection means building from the ground up as part of a talent‑dense team. You will help define our future as a company, and help define the future of open foundational models.

We want you to do the most impactful work of your career with the confidence that you and the people you care about most are supported.

• Top-tier compensation: Salary and equity structured to recognize and retain our talent globally.

• Stock options: Everyone who joins and contributes to Reflection's success gets to share in the upside through stock options.

• Health & wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life, with an annual wellness allowance.

• Meals: Lunch and dinner are provided in the office daily.

• Life & family: 22 weeks paid parental leave for all new birthing and non-birthing parents, including adoptive and surrogate journeys.

• Vacation days: Unlimited paid time off in the U.S. and 30 days in the U.K.

• Sponsorship support: We sponsor visas to help exceptional talent join our team and support long‑term immigration pathways where applicable.

• Team building: We have regular off‑sites, happy hours, and team celebrations.

Export Control Notice: This position may require access to technology or source code subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Any offer of employment for this role may be conditioned on the Company's ability to provide the candidate with access to such technology or source code in compliance with applicable U.S. export control laws, which may require the Company to seek government authorization.