Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

Ladders; United States; Remote; USD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESPP 15% discount

Health benefits

Generous vacation days

Family leave

Job summary

Ladders is seeking a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer to help shape how AI is applied to customer learning workflows. This remote role collaborates with clients and internal teams to turn complex needs into scalable, impactful solutions while shaping the engineering operating model.

As a founding member, you will define playbooks, culture, and practices for the team, own the end-to-end lifecycle from discovery to deployment, and drive adoption, efficiency, and product impact in the Education,

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in full-stack software development.
• Expertise in building agentic AI systems and LLM apps.
• Customer-centric approach with strong communication.
• Thrives in ambiguity and ownership of undefined problems.
• Proven rapid prototyping and iterative development.
• Frontend (React, TypeScript) and backend (Next.js, TypeScript) skills.

Responsibilities

• Define operational rituals and internal playbooks for the team.
• Map complex learning workflows and identify AI integration opportunities.
• Design and deploy custom AI agents that integrate with client systems.
• Translate customer insights into scalable platform improvements.
• Manage product lifecycle from discovery to deployment and optimization.
• Shape culture and operating practices of the founding team.

Skills

Full-stack development

Agentic AI systems

LLM applications

React

TypeScript

Distributed systems

AWS

Kubernetes

Communication

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

LLM providers

Job description

For our client, we are seeking a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer to join the team of a leader in the Education, Government & Non-Profit space.
This role will help shape how advanced AI capabilities are applied to customer-facing learning workflows and operational challenges.
You will work closely with clients and internal teams to turn complex needs into scalable solutions that improve adoption, efficiency, and product impact.
As a founding member of the forward deployed engineering function, you will also help define the operating model, playbooks, and culture for the team.
Location: Remote
Compensation: $125,000 – $150,000 annually

Responsibilities

• Define operational rituals and create internal playbooks for the forward deployed engineering team.
• Map complex learning and development workflows and identify opportunities for AI integration with clients.
• Design and deploy custom AI agents that work seamlessly with customer systems.
• Translate customer insights into scalable platform enhancements.
• Manage the entire product lifecycle from discovery to deployment and optimization.
• Shape the culture and operational practices of the founding forward deployed engineering team.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in full-stack software development.
• Expertise in building and deploying agentic AI systems and LLM applications.
• Strong customer-centric focus with excellent communication skills.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and take ownership of undefined problems.
• Proven rapid prototyping skills and ability to iterate based on feedback.
• Proficiency in frontend (React, TypeScript) and backend (Next.js, TypeScript) technologies.
• Experience with distributed systems, AWS, Kubernetes, and LLM providers.

Benefits

• Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP) at a 15% discount.
• Comprehensive health benefits for physical and mental well-being.
• Generous paid vacation days and company-wide days off.
• Family leave benefits to support new parents.
• Access to Employee Resource Groups and company-wide events.

Our client is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification—your background could be exactly what this team needs.