Founding Forward-Deployed Engineer

Job Title: Founding Forward-Deployed Engineer (YC-backed public safety startup) w/ 0.20% - 1.00% Equity x2 Job Location: NYC (Preferred) or SF Hybrid - (25-50% Travel Due to Customers being in Law Enforcement) Job Duration: Full-Time Permanent Salary: $85,000 - $140,000/Year Relocation Assistance: No Visa Sponsorship: No Job Overview As a founding Forward-Deployed Engineer, you will operate at the vital intersection of product development, full-stack engineering, and field operations. You will embed directly with detectives, analysts, and prosecutors to observe their workflows firsthand, identifying exactly where evidence review slows down investigations. Your primary objective is to apply your engineering skills to real-world problems by deploying a sophisticated platform that transcribes, searches, and analyzes massive volumes of digital evidence. This role requires a high-ownership operator who is comfortable building things that do not scale, such as custom integrations or scrappy fixes, to unblock customers today while simultaneously translating those field insights into a long-term product roadmap. You will ship production-ready features across the full stack using Python, React, TypeScript, and various AI/ML APIs to make evidence search faster and more reliable. Success in this role demands at least three years of professional software engineering experience and a proven ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders in law enforcement. Because you will own pilots end-to-end, you must be prepared to travel between 25% and 75% of the time to customer sites across the United States. By turning messy real-world requirements into clear technical decisions, you will bridge the gap between complex digital case files and the delivery of accurate, fair justice. Responsibilities: This is a founding Forward-Deployed Engineer role. You sit at the intersection of product, engineering, and the field. You'll embed directly with detectives, analysts, and prosecutors, learn their workflows, and use that context to deploy Closure's platform and shape the roadmap. Live with users. Apply your engineering skills to real-world user problems, directly with the people who use the product. Spend significant time on-site with law-enforcement customers — watching how they investigate cases and where evidence review slows them down. Solve pre-scale problems. You're a strong engineer who's comfortable building things that don't scale — one-off analyses, custom integrations, scrappy fixes that unblock a customer today. Deploy and configure Closure for new agencies, load and validate data, and make sure investigators can rely on it every day. Turn customer pain into product. Translate what you see in the field into concrete product ideas, then partner closely with the founders to ship them. You're an executor who turns user pain into PRs (or into a clear understanding of what we need to build next). Ship full-stack features. Build in Python, React, TypeScript, and AI/ML APIs — from new workflows in the UI to backend improvements that make evidence search faster and more reliable. Own pilots end to end. Run deployments, training sessions, and rollouts so new departments can adopt Closure smoothly. Act as the trusted technical partner for investigators and leadership teams. Qualifications: Engineering Background: 3+ years of full-stack software engineering experience shipping production features Strong proficiency in Python and a modern frontend stack (TypeScript/React or similar) Experience building on top of AI/ML APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, or similar) Comfortable working across the stack — frontend UI to backend services Customer-Facing Experience Prior experience in roles like forward-deployed engineer, solutions engineer, founding/early engineer, or similar — where you regularly met with users and incorporated their feedback Ability to translate messy real-world requirements into clear product and technical decisions Strong communication skills — can explain technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders (detectives, prosecutors, agency leadership) Mindset & Mission: High ownership — comfortable owning deployments end-to-end, from kickoff through training and ongoing support Excited by ambiguity, rapid iteration, and small-team environments Mission-driven and motivated by impact on public safety and the criminal-justice system Willing to travel 25–75% of the time to be on-site with law-enforcement customers across the U.S. Nice to Have: Experience deploying software in regulated or sensitive environments (gov, defense, healthcare, fintech) Familiarity with RAG, vector search, or LLM-powered applications Prior exposure to public sector or law-enforcement workflows Ability/willingness to go through CJIS clearance and FBI background checks Ideal Candidate: Ideal Candidate Profile Field-Driven Engineer – Strong full-stack engineer (Python + modern frontend) who enjoys leaving the office, sitting with users, and seeing how software actually gets used in the wild. Customer-Obsessed Problem Solver – Comfortable building trust with detectives and agency leadership, asking good questions, and turning messy requirements into clear product and technical decisions. High-Ownership Operator – Thrives in tiny, fast-moving teams, takes full responsibility for deployments and outcomes, and is happy to do whatever the situation requires (from debugging to running training sessions). Mission-Motivated – Energized by improving public safety and the criminal-justice system, and comfortable working with sensitive, sometimes difficult case material. Startup-Ready – Has prior experience in early-stage or talent-dense environments and is excited by ambiguity, rapid iteration, and having a big say in how the product and company evolve. Must-Have Requirements: 3+ years of professional software engineering experience working across the stack (backend + frontend) and shipping production features in a modern web stack (e.g., Python, TypeScript/React, or similar). Comfort working directly with customers or end users – you’ve been in roles like solutions engineer, forward-deployed engineer, founder/early engineer, or similar where you regularly met with users and incorporated their feedback. Willingness to travel 25–75% of the time to visit law-enforcement agencies and work with investigators on-site as needed. High ownership and startup mindset – experience in small, fast-paced teams where you’ve worn multiple hats, worked with ambiguity, and owned projects end-to-end. Strong communication skills – able to translate between technical details and non-technical stakeholders (detectives, prosecutors, agency leadership). Benefits: Retirement/401k Health Insurance Vision Insurance Dental Insurance U.S.-based role with visa sponsorship available for strong candidates. (NO H1Bs) Equity: 0.20% - 1.00% Bonuses based on company performance We contribute 3% to your 401(k), regardless of your own contribution Unlimited PTO Paid Short- & Long-term Disability Insurance Paid Life Insurance Criminal Justice Ready: Given the sensitivity of our work, we support employees through FBI background checks / CJIS clearance process as needed. Exceptional candidates outside NYC/SF will be considered but should expect 50-75% travel to customer sites. GCG® is one of world’s leading providers of business transformation solutions related to supply chain and technology solutions for order fulfillment and marketing execution. We are committed to an inclusive workplace that does not discriminate against race, nationality, religion, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. We believe in diversity and encourage any qualified individual to apply. We are an EEOC Employer.