Title of Role: Forward Deployed Engineer
Location: San Francisco, CA
Company Stage of Funding: Series D, backed by leading investors
Office Type: Hybrid (2–3 days in office per week)
Salary: $140,000 – $200,000 base, plus competitive equity
Our client is a venture-backed AI infrastructure company building the critical data layer that powers state-of-the-art artificial intelligence systems. With over $190M raised from top-tier investors, they are trusted by the world’s leading AI labs and enterprises to accelerate the development of frontier models. This is a rare opportunity to join a well-funded, fast-growing company operating at the epicenter of the AI revolution.
Partner directly with cutting-edge AI research teams and enterprise customers to deliver high-quality datasets that fuel model training, evaluation, and reinforcement learning.
Act as a technical owner on strategic projects, blending engineering, product thinking, and customer-facing problem solving.
Design, implement, and operate scalable human-in-the-loop data pipelines.
Write production-grade Python scripts to optimize data quality and processing.
Collaborate cross-functionally with researchers, data scientists, and engineers to shape the future of AI infrastructure.
Thrive in ambiguity and operate with high autonomy—much like a technical cofounder.
3+ years of professional experience executing and owning large-scale technical projects end-to-end.
Strong technical fundamentals, especially in Python and LLM development (not just usage).
Proven ability to collaborate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Experience in a startup or high-velocity environment, ideally with direct exposure to customers.
Excellent communication skills and ability to drive clarity in ambiguous situations.
Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical field (or equivalent experience).
Prior experience as a founding engineer, early-stage startup builder, or technical founder.
Background in data infrastructure, AI tooling, or ML/LLM engineering.
Track record of working closely with research labs, enterprise customers, or AI-focused teams.
Base Salary: $140,000 – $200,000
Equity: Competitive, meaningful ownership in a fast-scaling company
Hybrid Work Environment: 2–3 days per week in the San Francisco office with flexibility
Benefits: Comprehensive healthcare, 401(k), generous PTO, and additional perks that reflect a culture of high ownership and impact
This role is perfect for entrepreneurial engineers who want to work at the frontier of AI, partnering with top research labs and enterprises while shaping the infrastructure that makes next-generation models possible.