Head of Forward Deployed Engineering - AI for Finance

Search Chain Partners; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 350,000 - 650,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Senior leadership role

Exposure to banks and PE firms

Job summary

Search Chain Partners is seeking a Head of Forward Deployed Engineering to lead a US-based team delivering our AI platform inside top banks and PE firms. You will own deployment outcomes from pilot to full deployment and drive field-driven product improvements.

Ideal candidates have 8+ years in software engineering, 3+ years leading forward deployed or client-facing teams, and a track record delivering complex enterprise deployments for regulated industries. Equity and leadership impact offered.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering and 3+ years leading forward deployed/ client-facing engineering teams.
• Background at a tier 1 technology company or AI lab; experience at OpenAI, Anthropic, Scale AI, Databricks or Stripe is relevant.
• Strong programming depth in Python; cloud infrastructure and LLM systems (agents, RAG, evaluation).

Responsibilities

• Hire, lead and develop a team of Forward Deployed Engineers across the US.
• Set hiring bar for tier 1 engineering talent with strong client judgment.
• Create career paths, performance standards and a culture of ownership and speed.
• Own deployment success across bank and PE accounts from pilot to enterprise rollout.
• Build a repeatable deployment playbook including scoping, integration patterns and go-live.
• Lead the most strategic client engagements and track value and adoption metrics.

Job description

Our client is a fast-growing AI for Finance company building agentic AI products for banks and private equity firms. Its platform automates the high-value, analyst-heavy work behind deals, investment decisions and client coverage.

The business is backed by one of Europe's leading venture capital firms and is scaling quickly across London, Europe and the US. It sells to some of the most demanding buyers in financial services, and its team combines senior finance practitioners with top-tier AI engineers.

The role

The Head of Forward Deployed Engineering builds and leads the team that puts the platform to work inside the world's leading banks and PE firms. You will own deployment outcomes across the client base and turn field delivery into a repeatable, scalable function.

This role sits at the centre of the company's growth. Your team decides how quickly clients see value, how well accounts expand, and how much of what is learned in the field makes it into the core product.

• Reports to: CTO
• Works closely with: CEO, Product, GTM and Customer Success
• Type: Full-time, permanent

Key responsibilities

Build and lead the team

• Hire, lead and develop a team of exceptional Forward Deployed Engineers across the US
• Set the hiring bar: tier 1 engineering talent with strong client judgement
• Create career paths, performance standards and a culture of ownership and speed
• Accountable for deployment success across all bank and PE accounts, from pilot to enterprise rollout
• Build a repeatable deployment playbook: scoping, integration patterns, security reviews and go-live
• Personally lead the most strategic and complex client engagements
• Define and track metrics such as time to value, adoption, expansion and client satisfaction

Commercial impact

• Partner with GTM on technical sales, pilots and account expansion
• Build trusted relationships with client CTOs, heads of innovation and deal team leaders

Shape the product

• Create a tight feedback loop between the field and core engineering and product
• Identify repeated custom work and drive it into reusable platform features and tooling

About you

• 8+ years in software engineering, including 3+ years leading forward deployed, solutions or client-facing engineering teams
• Background at a tier 1 technology company, AI lab or high-growth scale-up. Palantir's forward deployed model is the benchmark; comparable experience at companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Scale AI, Databricks or Stripe is equally relevant
• Top academic record in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Engineering or similar from a leading university such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, ETH Zurich, EPFL, MIT, Stanford or equivalent
• Hands-on depth in Python, cloud infrastructure and LLM systems, including agents, RAG and evaluation
• Track record of delivering complex deployments for demanding enterprise clients, ideally in regulated industries
• Strong executive presence with client C-suites and senior technical stakeholders

A real bonus

• Experience deploying technology into investment banks, PE firms or asset managers
• Founder or early-stage startup experience
• Experience building an FDE function from scratch

What's on offer

• Senior leadership role with a top-of-market package, including significant equity
• The mandate to build a world-class FDE function from an early stage
• Direct exposure to leading banks and PE firms, and to the CEO and CTO
• A team of exceptional engineers and finance practitioners at a pivotal stage of growth