Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Job Description

Job Description

Olive Systems partners with fast-growing AI and technology companies across the United States to help them build and scale their engineering teams.

We’re looking for experienced Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) who can bridge the gap between complex customer challenges and real-world technical solutions.

Rather than hiring for a single position, we’re building a network of strong engineers interested in working with innovative startups and technology companies.

Based on your technical background, experience, and career preferences, we’ll connect you with relevant opportunities across our partner companies.

This is not an internal engineering position at Olive Systems.

What You’ll Do

As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you’ll work closely with customers and engineering teams to solve complex technical challenges, often without predefined requirements.

Your responsibilities may include:

• Working directly with customers to understand business challenges and translate them into technical solutions.
  
• Designing, developing, and deploying production-ready applications and systems.
  
• Building prototypes and turning successful concepts into scalable products.
  
• Working across backend, frontend, APIs, cloud infrastructure, data, and AI technologies.
  
• Making architectural and technical decisions independently.
  
• Collaborating with founders, product managers, and engineering teams.
  
• Identifying opportunities to turn custom solutions into reusable product capabilities.
  
• Taking full ownership of technical solutions, from initial discovery through production deployment.
  

Who We’re Looking For

We’re interested in engineers who combine strong technical expertise with product thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to work independently.

You might currently be a:

• Forward Deployed Engineer
  
• Senior / Staff Full-Stack Engineer
  
• Founding Engineer or Technical Founder
  
• AI / Applied AI Engineer
  
• Solutions Architect with hands-on development experience
  
• Senior Software Engineer with end-to-end product ownership
  

Our Hiring Process

1. Initial Technical Evaluation

We’ll invite you to a short AI-powered interview focused on your real engineering experience.

We’ll explore systems you’ve built, architectural decisions, technical challenges, and how you approach solving complex problems.

No algorithm puzzles or generic coding questions.

2. Conversation with Olive Systems

We’ll discuss your professional background, career goals, compensation expectations, preferred working environment, and availability.

3. Introduction to Relevant Opportunities

When we identify a suitable opportunity, we’ll introduce you to the company and coordinate the next steps.

Depending on the company, additional technical interviews or assessments may be required.

Location & Work Setup

We work with technology companies hiring across the United States .

Opportunities may be fully remote, hybrid, or onsite, depending on the company.

Specific location, compensation, employment arrangements, and work authorization or sponsorship requirements vary by opportunity.

Why Join Our Network?

Instead of applying to multiple companies individually, you can complete our initial evaluation once and be considered for relevant opportunities as they become available.

Our goal is to connect experienced engineers with companies where their technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, and career ambitions are a strong match.

Interested?

Apply with your CV or LinkedIn profile.

If your experience aligns with what our partner companies are looking for, we’ll contact you with the next steps.

What matters most:

• Strong hands-on software engineering experience.
  
• Proven track record of building and shipping production systems.
  
• Ability to take ownership of complex technical challenges from start to finish.
  
• Experience designing software architecture and making technical trade-offs.
  
• Confidence working with ambiguous or evolving requirements.
  
• Strong communication skills and experience collaborating with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  
• Ability to move quickly from problem discovery to implementation.
  

Nice to Have:

• Experience building AI-powered applications using LLMs, RAG, or AI agents.
  
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.
  
• Background in early-stage startups or fast-paced product environments.
  
• Previous experience working directly with enterprise customers.
  
• Experience developing MVPs, prototypes, or custom integrations.
  

• 401(k)
  
• Flexible schedule
  
• Paid time off