Lead Forward Deployed Engineer: AI-Driven Industrial Ops

Pelico; Miami, Austin, Boston (FL, TX, MA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Competitive salary

Flexible, hybrid work model

Health, dental, and vision coverage

Learning & development budget

Work with aerospace and manufacturing

Job summary

Pelico is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to join its growing team. You will design and deliver mission‑critical AI systems for aerospace and manufacturing, working closely with leadership and large enterprise customers to turn AI capabilities into measurable operational outcomes.

You will build end‑to‑end data pipelines, deploy AI powered agents, and scale the Forward Deployed function while maintaining strong customer relationships and business acumen in a fast‑moving startup

Qualifications

• 5+ years in Data, Software, ML, or Forward Deployed roles, ideally customer‑facing.
• Strong end‑to‑end data skills: ingestion to production (Python, SQL, Snowflake/DBT/Airflow, AWS)
• Comfortable with complex enterprise data (ERP, supply chain, manufacturing)
• Clear communicator with strong business acumen — autonomous, scrappy, and effective in fast‑moving startup environments
• Proven experience scaling initiatives and leading high‑performing teams
• You actively embrace AI tools as part of how you work — curious about what's possible and quick to adopt new ways of working smarter and faster.
• Hands‑on experience with AI‑assisted workflows — whether for writing, research, analysis, coding, or productivity
• (Nice‑to‑have) Strong solution‑framing skills, taking a customer need or issue end‑to‑end to a clear execution plan
• (Nice‑to‑have) Systems thinker with a strong ownership and execution mindset

Responsibilities

• Lead complex enterprise deployments from scoping to production
• Build and ship production‑grade AI and data systems (Java, Python, SQL, cloud)
• Stand up modern data stacks, architect scalable data pipelines, and deploy AI‑powered agents that reshape how operations teams work
• Integrate with ERP, MES, PLM, and broader industrial ecosystems
• Translate operational ambiguity into structured execution, engaging directly with enterprise customers from your first weeks
• Formalize best practices and scale the Forward Deployed function

Skills

Data engineering

ML

Python

SQL

Snowflake/DBT/Airflow

AWS

ERP systems

Leadership

Customer facing

AI tooling adoption

Java

Tools

Java

Python

SQL

Snowflake

DBT

Airflow

AWS

Job description

Pelico is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to join its growing team. You will design and deliver mission‑critical AI systems for aerospace and manufacturing, working closely with leadership and large enterprise customers to turn AI capabilities into measurable operational outcomes.

You will build end‑to‑end data pipelines, deploy AI powered agents, and scale the Forward Deployed function while maintaining strong customer relationships and business acumen in a fast‑moving startup