Forward Deployed AI Engineer

Job DescriptionJob DescriptionWho We Are & Why Join UsAvathon is the leading Industrial AI autonomy platform, helping customers across heavy industries -- energy, mining, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and logistics -- accelerate the journey toward autonomous operations. Our platform is built on a Computational Knowledge Graph foundation that contextualizes and connects operational data across siloed systems, bringing together time series, structured, unstructured, and machine vision data to power AI-driven applications in asset performance management, supply chain intelligence, visual AI, and global trade management. With capabilities spanning digital twins, normal behavior modeling, natural language processing, and computer vision, Avathon delivers real-time predictive intelligence and agentic decision-making at industrial scale.Cutting-Edge AI Innovation -- Join a team at the forefront of AI, developing groundbreaking solutions that shape the future. High-Growth Environment -- Thrive in a fast-scaling startup where agility, collaboration, and rapid professional growth are the norm. Meaningful Impact -- Work on AI-driven projects that drive real change across industries and improve lives.Learn more at:avathon.com About the Role As the only physical AI unicorn headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, we go beyond models and dashboards — we deploy AI that continuously computes across supply chains, energy systems, and industrial operations. Our Operational Technology platform turns fragmented data into real-time, autonomous decisioning across the systems that power the global economy.This is not digital AI. This is AI for operational reality — where latency, constraints, and failure have real-world consequences.Forward Deployed AI Engineers at Avathon are rewiring how the physical world operates. You will work directly with customers to take the hardest operational problems — multi-echelon supply chains, constrained production systems, global logistics networks — and turn them into continuously computing, AI-led systems. You will design, build, and deploy production-grade AI applications that operate across real-world infrastructure where decisions propagate across thousands of nodes in real time.ResponsibilitiesThis role operates with the intensity and ownership of a founder in the field:Own end-to-end delivery of high-stakes deployments in operational environmentsDesign and implement Avathon's Computational Knowledge Graph (CKG) that unifies data, constraints, and decisioning — performing continuous computation across physical networksReplace static planning workflows with real-time, autonomous execution applicationsWork side-by-side with operators, planners, and key stakeholders to define problems and deliver solutionsPush systems into production that directly control and influence real-world operationsDrive product evolution by feeding field learnings back into Avathon's core platformPreferred Skills6+ years of hands-on technical experience (including internships) building, scaling, or deploying software and AI/ML systemsExperience building AI/ML applications in productionStrong foundation in machine learning, optimization, and system designExceptional inferencing skills on applying necessary models in the fieldDemonstrated proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, C++, TypeScript/JavaScript, or similarAbility to reason complex, interconnected systems (supply chains, networks, infrastructure)Ability to move from problem to architecture to deployment without handoffsWe ValueWe value engineers who build systems and tune industrial modelsComfort operating in ambiguity, pressure, and high-stakes environmentsWillingness to work directly with customers and operate in real-world environmentsTravel to customer sites (up to 50%)QualificationsBachelor's degree in Science, Technology, EngineeringAn active U.S. Government security clearance (preferred)Excellent problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skillsMust be authorized to work in the United States without current or future company sponsorshipCompensation & BenefitsCalifornia Base Salary Range: $110,000 – $180,000 USD (based on experience)Equity in the form of stock optionsComprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage401(k) participationGenerous PTO and company holidaysOngoing learning and development opportunitiesLocation:Reporting out of Avathon's HQ in Pleasanton (San Francisco Bay Area), California.Avathon is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.Avathon is committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us to discuss how we can assist you.