Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

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.

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.
• $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.