Staff Forward Deployed Engineer

Learning Commons; Redwood City (CA); Hybrid; USD 214,000 - 268,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous 401(k) employer match

Paid volunteer time off

Relocation support

Job summary

Learning Commons seeks a Staff Forward Deployed Engineer to support partners in adopting AI tools and integrations. The role involves working closely with engineering and data teams to drive successful deployments and improve educational platforms.

The ideal candidate has over 8 years of experience in software engineering, strong communication skills, and proficiency in TypeScript and Python. This hybrid position offers competitive compensation and a collaborative work environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience.
• Experience building and launching new products or platforms.
• Ability to work effectively with technical and non‑technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement integrations with Learning Commons products.
• Collaborate directly with partner engineering teams.
• Build prototypes and production‑ready solutions.

Skills

Software engineering experience

TypeScript

Python

Strong communication skills

Problem-solving

Tools

Claude Code

Codex

Cursor

Windsurf

Job description

Learning Commons aims to scale proven teaching and learning practices to benefit every learner by building AI infrastructure that better connects the way students learn to the tools they learn with.

The Team

At Learning Commons, we operate at the intersection of technology, research, and philanthropy. We pair product development with grantmaking to scale proven teaching and learning practices for the benefit of every learner. We aim to bring learning science into the tools educators and students use every day.

Our work is grounded in a deep belief: when technology reflects the realities of classrooms and the science of how students learn, it can meaningfully strengthen teaching and unlock new possibilities for students. The rise of generative AI offers us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to dramatically accelerate the translation of research insights into practical, classroom‑ready tools; tools that honor teachers’ expertise, adapt to students’ needs, and make effective learning practices easier to access, implement, and sustain.

In today’s fragmented edtech landscape, school districts are often left piecing together products that don’t always align with curricula or instructional needs. While AI holds enormous potential to support teachers and students, it can only deliver on that promise when grounded in research, high-quality educational data, and expert evaluation. That’s why we’re building open, public‑purpose infrastructure—datasets, rubrics, and resources—that help raise the standard for educational tools and create more consistent, impactful learning experiences for all students and teachers.

Learning Commons is building shared infrastructure for education that enables organizations to better connect, understand, evaluate, and improve learning experiences. Our products—including our Knowledge Graph, Evaluators, and future AI‑powered offerings—help partners unlock value from educational data, content, and learning experiences at scale.

We work closely with EdTech companies and other ecosystem partners to bring these capabilities into real‑world products and workflows while continuously learning from deployments to improve our platform.

The Opportunity

As a Staff Forward Deployed Engineer, you will help partners successfully adopt and integrate Learning Commons products while shaping the future of the platform itself.

You will work directly with partner engineering, data, and product teams to identify opportunities, define solutions, build prototypes, develop production integrations, and drive successful deployments. Along the way, you will translate real‑world learnings into reusable capabilities, deployment patterns, and product improvements that benefit the broader ecosystem.

This role will drive impact in software engineering, product development, data, and partner collaboration. It is ideal for someone who enjoys building new products, working closely with customers, and operating in ambiguous environments.

Every partner deployment helps shape the future of Learning Commons. As a Staff Forward Deployed Engineer, you will play a critical role in bringing our products into the ecosystem while helping define what we build next.

This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of engineering, AI, data, and learning science while helping create foundational infrastructure for the future of learning.

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement integrations using Learning Commons products, APIs, and datasets.
• Build prototypes, proofs of concept, and production‑ready solutions.
• Collaborate directly with partner engineering, data, and product teams to solve complex technical challenges.
• Lead technical discovery, architecture discussions, implementation planning, and deployment efforts.
• Support data integration and alignment between partner systems and Learning Commons datasets.
• Identify patterns across deployments and contribute reusable solutions back to the Learning Commons platform.
• Partner with Product and Engineering teams to influence roadmap priorities based on field experience.
• Establish best practices, deployment frameworks, and implementation patterns that accelerate adoption across partners.

What You’ll Bring

• 8+ years of software engineering experience.
• Experience building and launching net‑new products, platforms, or technical capabilities.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Experience working directly with customers, partners, or external organizations to solve technical problems and deliver solutions.
• Demonstrated proficiency using agentic software engineering tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, or similar) as part of modern software development workflows.
• Strong proficiency in TypeScript and Python. Experience contributing to codebases built with other popular programming languages.
• Ability to operate independently and turn loosely defined problems into practical solutions.

Compensation

The Redwood City, CA base pay range for a new hire in this role is $214,000 - $268,000. New hires are typically hired into the lower portion of the range, enabling employee growth in the range over time. Actual placement in range is based on job‑related skills and experience, as evaluated throughout the interview process.

This position may be eligible to participate in our discretionary annual performance bonus program. Bonus eligibility and targets are determined in accordance with our total rewards philosophy and may vary by role.

Better Together

As we grow, we’re excited to strengthen in‑person connections and cultivate a collaborative, team‑oriented environment. This role is a hybrid position requiring you to be onsite for at least 60% of the working month, approximately 3 days a week, with specific in‑office days determined by the team’s manager. The exact schedule will be at the hiring manager’s discretion and communicated during the interview process.

Benefits for the Whole You

• Provides a generous employer match on employee 401(k) contributions to support planning for the future.
• Paid time off to volunteer at an organization of your choice.
• Relocation support for employees who need assistance moving.

Reasonable Accommodation Notice

The organization provides (and state and federal law requires) reasonable accommodations to be provided to qualified applicants with disabilities. Your recruiter will work with you during the interview process should you require any such accommodations. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

Background Check Notice

As part of our hiring process, all offers of employment are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you will be required to undergo a background check prior to employment.

Artificial Intelligence Usage Notice

We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications and analyzing resumes. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you have questions about this once your are in our hiring process, please contact your Recruiter.

As set forth in the organization’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.