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Job opportunity
Founding Forward Deployed Engineer
Chicago, IL, US; New York, NY, US
Source: Raydar careers · View original posting
- Pay
- $200,000 — $300,000 USD per year
- Employment
- full time
Employer job description
From Raydar's posting. “We” and “our” refer to the employer.
About the company
Our client is an AI-first permanent-capital software group that acquires mission-critical vertical SaaS companies and operates them for the long term. The company has raised more than $50M, acquired eight businesses in under two years, and is building a shared applied-AI platform across its portfolio. Distribution, executive sponsorship, customer relationships, and deployment budgets are already in place.
The role and why it matters
This is a founding Forward Deployed Engineer role with direct access to the co-founders and Head of AI. You will build and deploy applied-AI products across multiple vertical software companies, identify repeatable patterns, and turn successful deployments into reusable platform capabilities.
What you'll do
- Run discovery with executives and operators, translate business problems into product specifications, and build AI workflows from scratch.
- Own full deployment lifecycles from zero-to-one implementation through customer adoption.
- Work on-site with customer decision-makers and technical teams across portfolio companies.
- Build shared data models, ontologies, and workflow infrastructure that connect deployments into reusable vertical products.
- Partner directly with the co-founders, Head of AI, and portfolio CTO to define and execute the applied-AI strategy.
- Help establish the Forward Deployed Engineering pod, operating model, and technical standards.
Requirements
What we're looking for
- 3 to 5 years of hands-on software engineering or forward-deployed engineering experience.
- A track record leading technical deployments from discovery through production and adoption.
- Strong full-stack engineering, systems architecture, and data-pipeline fundamentals.
- Experience building with LLMs, applied machine learning, or AI workflow systems.
- Ability to work directly with C-level customers and translate ambiguous operational needs into shipped products.
- Founder-minded ownership, autonomy, and comfort operating without extensive structure.
- Willingness to travel frequently to customer sites.
- Bonus points
- Experience productizing patterns across multiple deployments or customers.
- Experience with vertical SaaS, enterprise software, or portfolio-company environments.
- Familiarity with ontology-driven platforms or centralized enterprise data models.
- Experience helping build an engineering team or new technical function.
- Location and work model
- Full-time role based in New York City or Chicago.
- Five days per week in the office, with frequent customer travel.
- Candidates must already be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
Benefits
- $200,000 to $300,000 base salary.
- Competitive equity.
- Founding-level ownership of a new applied-AI business.
- Direct access to company founders, portfolio executives, and customer decision-makers.
About this listing
LAYIQ is an independent job-discovery service. This listing does not imply a partnership with or endorsement by the employer. Review the original posting for current details and availability.
Employer posted:
Listing check
- Employer posted
- · 75 days ago
- Status
- Listed as a current opening
- Apply goes to
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