Lead / Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Virtasant; United States; On-site; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Virtasant is assembling a pod of engineers to deliver a production‑ready analytics platform for a leading US healthcare workforce client. You will embed with the client, own outcomes, and ship with a focus on security, reliability, and scalability.

The role combines strong software engineering, architecture, and business context, with collaboration across platform, data, and optimization teams to drive measurable business results.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering, architecture, or related field with senior ownership of production systems.
• Strong hands-on Python experience and backend service/API development.
• Experience designing production-grade distributed systems.
• Proven ability to turn prototypes/MVPs into production systems.
• Experience collaborating directly with clients and stakeholders to shape solutions.
• Ability to lead technical discussions and architecture reviews with senior staff.
• Translate business requirements into technical architecture and implementation plans.
• Solid understanding of scalability, reliability, security, observability, and deployment.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary technical and consultative engineering lead for the engagement.
• Work with client stakeholders to understand business problems, constraints, and requirements.
• Lead discovery sessions, workshops, and translate requirements into practical technical solutions.
• Design and guide data architecture using PostgreSQL and Snowflake, including data modeling and flows.
• Shape the architecture to production-ready, secure, scalable platforms.
• Make architectural decisions across backend services, APIs, data, integrations, and infra.
• Be hands-on when needed, writing production-grade Python services and APIs.
• Define the roadmap from prototype to MVP to production, with measurable outcomes.

Skills

Python

Backend services

System design

Client-facing

Architectural decisions

Data architecture

Observability

Security

Mentoring

Clear communication

Job description

About Virtasant

Virtasant is a global technology services company with a network of over 4,000 technology professionals across 130+ countries. We specialize in cloud architecture, infrastructure, migration, and optimization, helping enterprises scale efficiently while maintaining cost control.

Our clients range from Fortune 500 companies to fast-growing startups, relying on us to build high-performance infrastructure, optimize cloud environments, and enable continuous delivery at scale.

About therole

A leading US healthcare workforce company has built an analytics and predictive proof of concept. Client reaction has been strong, and the platform is now moving to a full production build that will be taken to market. We are standing up a pod of five to six engineers to deliver it, working alongside the client’s product and business teams and training their internal engineers as we build. This is forward deployed work in the original sense: you embed with the client, you own an outcome, and you ship. Beyond the first build, the client plans to place small AI pods inside its business units, each pairing an FDE with an AI engineer and a software engineer, and each accountable for a measurable business result. Do the first engagement well and there is a long runway.

What You’ll Do

• Act as the primary technical and consultative engineering lead.

• Work directly with client stakeholders to understand business problems, workflows, constraints, and technical requirements.

• Lead discovery sessions and technical workshops and translate business requirements into practical technical solutions.

• Design and guide the data architecture using both PostgreSQL and Snowflake, including data modeling, data flows, and how the two systems integrate with the broader platform.

• Design and evolve the architecture required to take an existing prototype into a secure, scalable, production-ready platform.

• Make architectural decisions across backend services, APIs, data, integrations, infrastructure, security, and reliability.

• Be hands‑on in the implementation, including writing production‑quality Python services and APIs when needed.

• Work closely with platform, data, backend, and optimization engineers to establish a coherent technical direction.

• Help define the roadmap from the existing prototype through MVP and production.

• Identify technical risks, gaps, dependencies, and trade‑offs and communicate them clearly to both technical and business stakeholders.

• Partner with the client’s existing architect and engineering team rather than operating as a separate vendor team.

• Help establish engineering practices required for production, including observability, security, deployment, reliability, and maintainability.

• Take ownership of outcomes and delivery rather than simply completing assigned tickets.

What We’re Looking For

This is an FDE‑grade role. We are looking for someone who combines strong software engineering, architecture, consulting, and business context.

Must-Have Experience

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, solutions architecture, or a closely related technical discipline, with senior‑level ownership of production systems.

• Strong hands‑on software engineering experience, particularly with Python and backend services/APIs.

• Strong system design and architecture skills, with experience designing production‑grade distributed systems.

• Experience taking an existing prototype, proof of concept, or MVP and helping turn it into a production system.

• Demonstrated experience working directly with clients or business stakeholders to discover requirements and shape technical solutions.

• Experience leading technical discussions, workshops, design sessions, or architecture reviews with senior stakeholders.

• Ability to translate business requirements and processes into technical architecture and implementation plans.

• Strong understanding of production concerns including scalability, reliability, security, observability, deployment, and data architecture.

• Ability to be both consultative and hands‑on: you can discuss architecture with a CTO and then work with engineers to implement the solution.

• Strong written and spoken English and the ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and non‑technical audiences.

• Comfortable working in a client‑facing, ambiguous environment where requirements evolve as the product is built.

Nice-to-haves

• Healthcare experience

• HIPAA / PHI experience

• Workforce management, staffing, or scheduling experience

• Experience with HRIS, ERP, EMR/EHR, or scheduling‑system integrations

• Experience with Workday, UKG/Kronos, Oracle, or similar enterprise systems

• Experience with optimization or ML systems

• Experience with OR-Tools, Gurobi, OptaPlanner, XGBoost, or SciPy

• Previous experience as a Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Architect, Solutions Engineer, or Staff Engineer in a client‑facing environment

• Experience transferring technical knowledge to client engineering teams through mentoring, pairing, workshops, or documentation
  

Our recruitment process

• Recruiter interview (30 min)

• Technical Interview (30 min)

• Client Interview 1 (60 min)

We strive to move efficiently from step to step to make the recruitment process as fast as possible.

What we offer

Contract engagement through the Gigster network, full‑time dedication expected.

Initial term aligned to the production build, with extension likely as the pod model expands across business units.

Compensation is competitive and set by experience and location

For this role, we can only consider candidates located in contiguous US states.
Also, we are only able to consider candidates who are either US citizens, or Green Card Holders, or sole proprietors of their own LLC company. We are NOT able to consider candidates on any kind of visa that requires sponsorship, like STEM OPT, H4 EAD, F-1 OPT, L-2S, CPT, etc.