Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Location: Washington, DC (Hybrid 2-3 days at client location)

Permanent/Fulltime Opportunity

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) who is passionate about building modern, scalable software solutions that solve complex business problems. This role partners closely with business stakeholders to understand business needs, design innovative technology solutions, and deliver enterprise-grade applications that drive measurable business outcomes.

The successful candidate will be a hands-on software engineer with strong full-stack development expertise, experience working directly with business users, and the ability to lead technical delivery across cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate enjoys solving ambiguous problems, rapidly prototyping solutions, and transforming successful concepts into secure, scalable production applications.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with business stakeholders to understand business processes, identify opportunities for automation, and translate business needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Design, develop, deploy, and support enterprise applications using modern backend and frontend technologies.
• Build REST APIs, backend services, data integration solutions, and cloud-native applications.
• Develop proof-of-concepts and rapidly iterate solutions based on business feedback before production deployment.
• Build AI-powered applications leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), intelligent assistants, and workflow automation.
• Collaborate with Product Managers, Business Analysts, Architects, Data Engineers, and Software Engineers throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Ensure applications meet enterprise standards for scalability, security, performance, and maintainability.
• Mentor engineers, perform code reviews, and contribute to architecture and engineering best practices.
• Coordinate technical delivery across distributed engineering teams.
• Create technical documentation and effectively communicate solution designs, implementation approaches, and project status to technical and business stakeholders.

Must Have

• 10+ years of software engineering experience developing enterprise applications.
• Strong hands-on programming experience with Python.
• Experience developing modern web applications using React and/or Next.js.
• Experience designing and developing REST APIs and microservices.
• Experience working with cloud platforms (AWS preferred).
• Experience working with enterprise databases and data platforms such as Snowflake, Databricks, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, or equivalent technologies.
• Experience designing scalable, secure, and maintainable enterprise applications.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, SDLC, CI/CD, and Agile development methodologies.
• Proven experience working directly with business stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver business-focused technology solutions.
• Experience providing technical leadership, mentoring engineers, and collaborating with globally distributed development teams.
• Prior experience working within Financial Services is mandatory.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills.

Good to Have

Experience building AI-powered enterprise applications using Large Language Models (LLMs).

• Experience with LangChain, LlamaIndex, Semantic Kernel, or similar AI orchestration frameworks.
• Experience implementing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) solutions.
• Experience with enterprise AI platforms such as AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, or similar technologies.
• Experience building intelligent automation or AI agent workflows.
• Experience working with vector databases and semantic search technologies.
• Experience with streaming and event-driven architectures.
• Experience in Private Equity, Asset Management, Investment Banking, Capital Markets, or other investment-focused financial institutions.
• Experience in an embedded engineering, consulting, or forward-deployed delivery model.
• Experience contributing to enterprise AI governance and responsible AI implementation.

Technical Skills

Programming & Frameworks

• Python
• React
• Next.