Forward Deployment AI Engineer

Lyra Technology Group; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Lyra Technology Group is seeking a Forward Deployment AI Engineer for its portfolio company, Interlaced, in San Diego, California. This hands-on role involves designing and deploying AI solutions directly with clients, addressing operational challenges across various cutting-edge industries.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, 2+ years of relevant experience, and proficiency in Python. Join a team dedicated to innovative technology outcomes!

Qualifications

• 2+ years of professional experience in software engineering, AI/ML engineering, or technical consulting.
• Working proficiency in Python and familiarity with cloud services.
• Hands-on experience building with LLM APIs.

Responsibilities

• Identify and secure new business opportunities with clients.
• Embed with clients to discover operational pain points.
• Design and build AI agents and automation solutions.

Skills

Python

AI/ML engineering

Technical consulting

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Information Systems

Tools

REST APIs

LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini)

Workflow automation platforms (Zapier, Make)

Job description

Lyra Technology Group is a private equity‑backed holding company that invests in and operates industry-leading technology service businesses. Our companies are operated independently by exceptional management teams. Companies that join our group retain the employees, name, and culture that have made them successful. As a platform of Evergreen Services Group, we never divest from businesses we partner with and approach every decision with the goal of driving sustainable and healthy growth over the long term.

Forward Deployment AI Engineer

Interlaced, a Lyra Technology Group portfolio company, is looking for a Forward Deployment AI Engineer. The FDE will embed with our clients’ businesses—rolling up your sleeves to design, build, and deploy AI‑powered solutions that create real operational impact. You won’t be sitting behind a desk writing specs; you’ll be working directly with small and mid‑size businesses diagnosing inefficiencies, earning stakeholder trust, and shipping production‑grade AI agents, automated workflows, and engineering solutions that change how these organizations run.

This is a hands‑on, client‑facing engineering role built for someone who is as comfortable presenting to a small business owner as they are writing Python.

Our companies are cloud‑focused IT services providers, providing outsourced IT services for innovative businesses across the globe.

• We are cloud focused
• We work with cutting‑edge clients in forward‑thinking industries like tech startups, biotech, and digital agencies
• We are poised for significant growth in 2026 and beyond and need you to help us do it!

We are a team of hungry, innovative, technology‑lovers who are excited to build something amazing together!

Your work as a Forward Deployment AI Engineer will include several components:

• Relationship Management: Identify, engage, and secure new business opportunities
• Embed directly with clients to discover operational pain points, map workflows, and identify high‑ROI opportunities for AI and automation
• Design and build AI agents using frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, or similar—including tool‑use, memory, and multi‑agent orchestration patterns
• Develop AI‑powered workflows that integrate with clients’ existing systems (CRMs, ERPs, cloud platforms, communication tools, etc.)
• Engineer automation solutions across areas such as document processing, data extraction, reporting, customer communication, and internal operations
• Own the full delivery lifecycle—from scoping and architecture to build, testing, handoff, and lightweight documentation
• Train and enable client teams to maintain and iterate on solutions post‑deployment
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor, translating complex AI capabilities into clear business value for non‑technical stakeholders
• Contribute internally by codifying reusable components, playbooks, and delivery templates that scale across the practice
• Stay at the forefront of the AI landscape and proactively recommend new tools, solutions, and service offerings that help Interlaced and its clients remain ahead of the curve
• You genuinely enjoy teaching. You’ll be expected to elevate our internal team’s AI fluency, not just deliver client engagements.

Our ideal Forward Deployment AI Engineer has the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future
• 2+ years of professional experience in software engineering, AI/ML engineering, or a technical consulting role
• Working proficiency in Python and familiarity with REST APIs and cloud services
• Hands‑on experience building with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or similar)
• Understanding of prompt engineering, RAG (Retrieval‑Augmented Generation), and agentic workflow patterns
• Ability to work independently in ambiguous, fast‑moving client environments. You’ll be the primary technical resource for this practice and should be comfortable embracing challenge.
• Strong communication skills— you can explain a vector database to a CFO without losing them

Preferred

• Experience with workflow automation platforms (Zapier, Make, n8n, Lindy or similar)
• Familiarity with vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, Chroma) and embedding pipelines
• Exposure to low‑code/no‑code tools alongside custom‑code solutions
• Prior client‑facing, consulting, or forward‑deployed engineering experience
• Experience working with SMB clients across industries such as professional services, healthcare, logistics, or retail

Who Thrives in This Role

You’re a builder who gets energy from solving real problems for real people. You’re not waiting for perfect requirements—you ask good questions, form a hypothesis, and get something in front of stakeholders fast.