Forward Deployed Engineer - US

FDE Times; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognition, an applied AI lab in San Francisco, builds Devin, the first AI software engineer, and deploys Devin into real production environments for customers. As a Deployed Engineer, you will lead demos, pilots, integrations, and drive adoption of the Cognition platform from the inside out.

You will work directly with engineers to understand workflows, identify high-impact use cases, and be proactive in solving complex technical problems for a broad range of clients, staying ahead of blockers

Qualifications

• Strong engineering foundation in a rigorous technical environment.
• Proven track record of exceptional performance in academics, athletics, professional, or entrepreneurial pursuits.
• Self-directed by default with strong prioritization skills.
• Excellent communication with senior engineers and executives.

Responsibilities

• Own all technical aspects of the customer lifecycle—from deployment through activation and success with Devin.
• Collaborate with customers to understand challenges and identify high-impact use cases for Devin.
• Build deep relationships with customers’ engineering teams to ensure smooth product integration and adoption.
• Listen to customer feedback, implement requested features, and advocate for customer needs with the team.
• Provide product instincts to help set the roadmap.

Job description

Job Description

We are an applied AI lab building end-to-end software agents.

We're the makers of Devin, the first AI software engineer.

Our team is extremely talent-dense. Among our founding team, we have world-class competitive programmers, former founders, and leaders from companies at the cutting edge of AI including Scale AI, Palantir, Cursor, Waymo, Tesla, Lunchclub, Modal, Google DeepMind, and Nuro.

Building Devin is just the first step-our hardest challenges still lie ahead.

About The Role

At Cognition, customers are our highest priority. Deployed Engineers (DEs) are customer-facing technical experts who help our customers maximize the value they get out of Devin.

You'll work directly with engineers to understand their workflows, identify high-impact use cases, and deploy Devin into real production environments. You'll lead demos and pilots, support integrations, and drive adoption of the Cognition platform from the inside out.

This role combines hands-on technical work, customer partnership, and rapid execution. You'll serve a broad range of clients, switching context frequently and staying ahead of issues before they become blockers. You're expected to be proactive, make judgment calls, and take ownership of outcomes.

In this role, you will

• Own all technical aspects of the customer lifecycle—from deployment through activation, making sure our customers are successful using Devin
• Work closely with customers to understand their technical challenges and identify the best use cases for Devin to be a productive contributor
• Build deep relationships with our customers’ engineering teams to ensure smooth product integration and adoption, activating top users and driving product utilization
• Build! Always listen to customer feedback, have a bias toward implementing requested features yourself, and advocate for the customers’ needs with the rest of the team
• Be the customer oracle! Exercise your product instincts to help set the roadmap

What We Value

• Customer empathy - you care deeply about how engineers work and what helps them succeed.
• Ownership mindset - you take responsibility for results, not just tasks.
• Technical curiosity - you enjoy digging into unfamiliar systems and understanding how they really work.
• Bias toward execution - you move quickly from problem to solution.
• Grit - you’re comfortable operating in ambiguous, high-intensity environments.
• Exploratory rigor - You poke at edges, ask uncomfortable questions, and would rather find problems yourself than have them find you.

Requirements

• Strong engineering foundation from a rigorous technical environment.
• Demonstrated track record of exceptional performance in whatever you've pursued, whether academic, athletic, professional, or entrepreneurial.
• Self-directed by default. You don't need a manager to tell you what to do next or how to prioritize.
• Strong communication skills. You can hold your own with senior engineers and executives alike.
• Have a high tolerance for ambiguity, intensity, and sustained effort when the problem demands it.
• Willingness to travel 25-50%.

You might excel if you…

• Advanced in at least one modern programming language (e.g., Python, TypeScript).
• Experience writing and debugging real software systems.
• Want to work directly with real users on high-impact technical problems.
• Learn quickly by being embedded in challenging, real-world environments.
• Have worked at an early-stage startup or in a role where you operated well beyond your job description.

Our Commitment

Equal Opportunity. Cognition is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic under applicable law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities throughout the hiring process - please let us know if you need any. Cognition also considers applicants with criminal histories consistent with the SF Fair Chance Ordinance and similar local laws.

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