Founding Forward Deployed Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 29, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 28, 2026.
About the Role
Join an early-stage vertical SaaS and AI team to build and deploy applied AI solutions for enterprise customers. This founding role will shape customer deployments and the technical practices that support the growing function.
What You'll Do
Lead customer discovery, translate business problems into product specifications, and build AI workflows and solutions.
Own end-to-end deployments, from initial development through customer adoption and ongoing maintenance.
Work on-site with customer leaders and teams, including extended deployments at customer locations.
Develop shared data models and workflows that can become reusable, productized solutions across verticals.
Partner with company leadership to define and execute the applied AI strategy.
Help establish the forward deployed engineering function as the team grows.
What We're Looking For
Four to six years of experience in forward deployed engineering or technical customer-facing roles, building and deploying software or AI solutions for enterprise B2B clients.
Experience owning technical deployments end to end, from a 0-to-1 build through customer adoption and post-deployment support.
Strong enterprise B2B software background and the ability to translate between engineering and business needs.
Full-stack technical range, including system architecture, data pipelines, LLM application patterns, and AI/ML.
A bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or an equivalent technical field, or comparable technical fundamentals.
Comfort working on-site five days a week and traveling approximately 50%, including multi-week customer deployments.
Must be a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary: $200,000 to $250,000 annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Location
On-site, based in Chicago, Illinois. New York is also an available work location.