Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

AustinWorks; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Venture-backed AI Startup | Seed Stage in San Francisco seeks a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer to build software in close collaboration with customers. This hands-on role blends product engineering, customer engagement, and problem solving at scale.

You'll work directly with customer technical teams and executives, designing and shipping production-grade AI-powered workflows and full-stack solutions onsite across manufacturing sites. Travel and customer interaction are integral to the role.

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering fundamentals and experience shipping production applications.
• Excellent communication with engineers and senior stakeholders.
• Ability to own problems end-to-end in fast-paced environments.
• Experience working directly with customers or in early-stage settings.
• Interest in AI, manufacturing, or industrial tech.
• Willingness to travel and work onsite in SF five days a week.

Responsibilities

• Own customer problems end-to-end: identify challenges, scope solutions, and deliver software.
• Build real products: design and ship full-stack apps, AI workflows, and data pipelines.
• Translate ambiguity into scalable software solutions.
• Work onsite with customers across factories, labs, and manufacturing sites.
• Shape the core platform by turning learnings into reusable capabilities.

Skills

Software engineering

Production apps

Communication skills

Ownership

Ambiguity solving

Customer-facing

AI interest

Travel frequently

Job description

Location: San Francisco, CA (5 days onsite)

Travel: Frequent travel to customer sites across the US

Company: Venture-backed AI Startup | Seed Stage

About

We're partnering with a well-funded, early-stage AI startup building intelligent software for some of the world's most complex physical industries, including semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and materials science.

Backed by top-tier investors, the company is building a platform that helps enterprises turn fragmented technical data into actionable insights and better decisions.

The Role

As a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll sit at the intersection of software product engineering, customer engagement, and complex problem-solving.

You'll work directly with customers, from technical teams to senior executives, to understand their challenges and build production-grade software solutions. This is a hands-on engineering role, not traditional solutions engineering or implementation consulting.

What You'll Do

• Own customer problems end-to-end: Work directly with customers to identify challenges, scope solutions, and deliver impactful software.
• Build real products: Design and ship full-stack applications, AI-powered workflows, data pipelines, and production-ready features.
• Translate ambiguity into software: Turn messy, real-world problems into scalable, intuitive technical solutions.
• Work onsite with customers: Travel frequently to customer facilities, including factories, labs, and manufacturing sites, to understand workflows firsthand.
• Shape the core platform: Collaborate with founders and engineering to turn customer learnings into reusable product capabilities.

What We're Looking For

• Strong software engineering fundamentals with experience building and shipping production applications.
• Exceptional communication skills and confidence engaging both engineers and senior stakeholders.
• High ownership, intellectual curiosity, and an ability to solve ambiguous, complex problems.
• Experience working directly with customers or in fast-paced, early-stage environments.
• Interest in AI, applied science, manufacturing, or industrial technology.
• Willingness to travel frequently and work onsite in San Francisco five days per week.

Ideal Background: Software Engineer, Product Engineer, Founding Engineer, or Forward Deployed Engineer who loves building software, solving difficult problems, and working face-to-face with customers.