Forward Deployed Engineer

VAST Data is the data platform company for the AI era. We are building the enterprise software infrastructure to capture, catalog, refine, enrich, and protect massive datasets and make them available for real-time data analysis and AI training and inference. Designed from the ground up to make AI simple to deploy and manage, VAST takes the cost and complexity out of deploying enterprise and AI infrastructure across data center, edge, and cloud.

As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you are a core member of our engineering team embedded directly within our most strategic, large-scale customer environments. You will work side-by-side with customer architects, operators, and developers to deeply understand their unique scale challenges, solve complex infrastructure issues together, and translate real-world requirements into core product improvements. As the face of VAST Engineering on the ground, you own the technical success of strategic customer deployments from design through production operation.

• Experience: 5+ years in a highly technical, engineering role such as Forward Deployed Engineer, Resident Engineer, Systems Software Engineer, or Senior Systems Engineer with a track record of customer-facing collaboration.
• Composure under Pressure: A steady, analytical mindset when navigating complex technical challenges or high-stakes issues, with a focus on driving swift, logical resolutions.
• Diplomacy & Translation: Exceptional communication skills—the ability to explain complex distributed systems limitations to a customer executive, and equally comfortable explaining a business deadline to a core developer.
• Organizational Mastery: Highly organized and self-directed, with a proven ability to manage customer expectations and know when to set strategic boundaries to protect the product roadmap.
• Continuous Learning Mindset: Possess an insatiable curiosity and a desire to master new technologies. You are someone who proactively dives into unfamiliar technical concepts and comes up to speed rapidly in a fast-evolving ecosystem.
• Ability to travel or work on-site at customer locations as required (up to 25% travel).