Senior Software Engineer, FDE

Dormont Manufacturing Co; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 225,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in a fast-growing company

401(k) match and competitive compensation

Paid parental leave and fertility benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

$500 wellness stipend

$2,000 learning stipend

Free lunch and gym access in our SF office

Flexible PTO and 15 holidays

Job summary

Dormont Manufacturing Co in San Francisco is looking for a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer to lead technical projects with AI labs, ensuring the delivery of high-impact solutions. The role combines software engineering with direct customer interactions, focusing on deploying cutting-edge technology.

With over 5 years of experience in relevant roles, you will guide project delivery and mentor fellow engineers. The position offers excellent compensation, equity, and comprehensive benefits for full-time employees in the US.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience in customer-facing or solutions-oriented roles.
• Strong proficiency in ReactJS and TypeScript, with high code quality standards.
• Deep understanding of PostgreSQL, data modeling, and system design.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical projects and drive customer engagement for high-impact deployments.
• Mentor other engineers through best practices and code reviews.
• Prototype, test, and iterate tools based on real-time feedback.

Skills

ReactJS

TypeScript

Relational databases (PostgreSQL)

Cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP)

Stakeholder management

Job description

About the Role

As a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer, you’ll serve as a technical leader at the intersection of our engineering organization and our most strategic customers, including leading AI labs. You’ll own the end-to-end lifecycle of high-impact deployments—from scoping complex technical requirements to architecting, building, and scaling solutions that directly improve customer workflows and model performance. You’ll operate across the stack in highly ambiguous, fast-changing environments, and your judgment will shape how we approach our most critical partnerships.

This is a unique opportunity to combine deep technical leadership with direct customer engagement—driving not just the “what” and the “how,” but setting the standard for how Handshake delivers at the highest level.

Location: San Francisco, CA | 5 days/week in-office

• Partner with AI labs and cross-functional stakeholders to deeply understand technical challenges, translate ambiguous requirements into actionable engineering plans, and drive alignment across teams.
• Own the design, architecture, and delivery of tailored, production‑grade solutions for complex, high‑impact customer needs—often with minimal precedent or existing playbooks.
• Mentor and elevate other engineers through code reviews, architectural guidance, and establishing best practices for forward‑deployed work.
• Make key architectural decisions around reliability, scalability, and security, and set the technical direction for repeatable deployment patterns.
• Rapidly prototype, test, and iterate on tools in response to real‑time feedback, balancing speed of delivery with long‑term maintainability.
• Create and maintain technical playbooks, documentation, and frameworks that enable the team to scale deployments efficiently.

Desired Capabilities

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with meaningful time spent in customer‑facing, solutions‑oriented, or forward‑deployed roles.
• Strong proficiency with ReactJS and TypeScript, with a high bar for code quality, usability, and accessibility.
• Deep understanding of relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL), data modeling, and system design.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP), deployment pipelines, and production operations at scale.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical projects end‑to‑end in ambiguous environments with shifting requirements.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trust with both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Track record of mentoring engineers and raising the bar on engineering practices within a team.

Extra Credit

• Experience architecting and delivering production systems for LLMs or other AI‑powered products in real‑world, customer‑facing environments.
• Background in building or contributing to component libraries, design systems, or reusable deployment frameworks.
• Proven experience with performance optimization and scaling of full‑stack applications under real‑world constraints and high‑traffic conditions.
• Prior experience in a forward‑deployed, solutions engineering, or technical consulting role at a high‑growth company.

Perks

The below benefits are for full‑time US employees.

• Equity in a fast‑growing company
• 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
• Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
• Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
• $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
• Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
• Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
• Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Compensation

$225K – $250K • Offers Equity

For cash compensation, we set standard ranges for all U.S.-based roles based on function, level, and geographic location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. In order to be compliant with local legislation, as well as to provide greater transparency to candidates, we share salary ranges on all job postings regardless of desired hiring location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including geographic location as well as candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.