Forward Deployed Software Engineer

Forward Deployed Software EngineerEncord is the universal data layer for AI that helps 300+ AI teams train and run models on the right data. Our platform indexes, curates, annotates, and evaluates data across the full AI lifecycle, from development through production. Trusted by Woven by Toyota, AXA, UiPath, Zipline, and more.We're an ambitious team of 100+ working at the frontier of AI and have raised $60M in Series C funding from Wellington Management, CRV, Next47 and Y Combinator.The RoleWe're looking for an exceptional Forward Deployed Software Engineer (FDSE) to join our product engineering team. This is an engineering-first role: FDSEs are the technical owners who take the Encord platform into our most strategic and advanced customer environments, working directly with clients' engineering teams to identify problems and design, build, and ship the solutions that solve them.As an early member of the Forward Deployed team, you'll have an outsized impact on shaping a critical function for Encord and our customers, in a role that combines hands-on engineering with direct client ownership. You'll do tough system design calls under real customer load, and customers will trust you to get their hardest integration and workflow problems actually solved. You'll operate autonomously, defining your own path to a solution, managing client relationships directly, and feeding what you learn straight back into the product roadmap.What You'll DoOwn the end-to-end deployment of the Encord platform for our most strategic customersBuild data integrations and technical solutions to support customer onboarding and adoptionGuide customers with best practices, run demos, and host workshopsCommunicate project plans and progress to both technical teams and executive stakeholdersCollaborate closely with product, engineering, and commercial teams to feed customer insights back into the roadmapHelp define and scale the Forward Deployed function as an early team memberWho We're Looking ForDesign and ship high-quality, production-grade code that integrates Encord into customers' most complex data and ML pipelinesOwn system design decisions for customer deployments, balancing correctness, scalability, and speedWork directly with clients' engineering teams to diagnose problems, scope solutions, and ship fixes end-to-endBuild data integrations and technical solutions that support customer onboarding, adoption, and scale at paceCommunicate technical plans and tradeoffs clearly to both engineering counterparts and non-technical stakeholdersOperate with a high degree of autonomy: identify the right problem to solve, decide how to solve it, and see it through with minimal oversightCollaborate with product and engineering to feed customer insights back into the roadmapHelp define and scale the Forward Deployed function as an early team memberExperience Requirements3–8 years in a software engineering role; Python is a big plusExperience building or working with data integrations and APIsStrong written and verbal communication skillsAbility to thrive in ambiguity and take ownership without being told what to doPrior experience at a high-growth startup is a plusWhy EncordCompetitive salary, commission, and meaningful equity in a high-growth startupClear, accelerated growth opportunities as the company scales rapidlyStrong in-person culture: 4–5 days/week in our newly launched North Beach loft officeFlexible PTO to fully recharge18 paid vacation days in the U.S. plus federal holidaysAnnual learning & development budgetComprehensive health, dental, and vision coverageFrequent travel opportunities across the U.S., London, and EuropeBi-annual company offsites, twice-weekly team lunches, and monthly socials