Forward Deployed Engineer

Gradial is the marketing operations system of work that helps marketers and creatives move from idea to execution faster. Our platform orchestrates across martech stacks, workflows, and people to automate marketing execution, cutting execution time, so marketers focus on the work only humans can do: shaping brands, understanding customers, and creating the work that moves people.

Backed by leading investors, we’re building software that adapts to the user, not the other way around. We move with urgency, operate with ownership, and solve hard problems from first principles. If you want to do ambitious work, take real responsibility, and help define the future of AI-native content operations, you’ll do your best work here.

We’re hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer to lead implementations of our AI platform directly with customers. This role is ideal for a technically fluent builder who thrives at the intersection of engineering and problem solving; someone who wants to be hands-on with code while shaping how some of the world’s most recognizable brands modernize their content operations.

As an FDE, you’ll own full-stack development for enterprise deployments, working side-by-side with customers to map complex workflows into scalable generative systems. You’ll move between discovery, prototyping, implementation, and post-launch optimization - translating real-world pain points into elegant technical solutions.

• Lead technical discovery and implementation for new enterprise customers, translating nuanced business processes into robust AI-native solutions.
• Build, deploy and optimize features that integrate customer systems with Gradial’s LLM driven platform.
• Develop reusable tools, adapters and configuration layers to support scalable enterprise onboarding.
• Collaborate with customer stakeholders (mainly within marketing, operations and engineering) to define requirements, surface edge cases and iterate in real time.
• Work closely with Gradial’s product and engineer teams to incorporate learnings from the field into our core roadmap.
• Contribute to internal technical documentation and implementation playbooks that accelerate future deployments.
• Own performance, reliability and maintainability for the solutions you ship, from backend architecture to customer UX.

• 1+ years of software engineering or technical implementation experience, ideally in customer-facing contexts.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as TypeScript or similar, with a strong understanding of APIs and systems integration.
• Ability to rapidly understand unfamiliar enterprise software architectures (CMS, DAM, workflow tools) and build integration paths.
• Excellent communication skills. Confident translating for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• High ownership mindset with comfort operating independently, navigating ambiguity.
• Willingness to travel occasionally (<10%) for customer discovery, deployment and relationship building.

• Experience working with enterprise customers; particularly in content, marketing or digital operations.
• Familiarity with LLMs, generative AI pipelines and agent-style automation frameworks.

The salary range for this position is $130,000 – $210,000 annually . Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as experience, skills, and qualifications. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for performance-based bonuses and equity awards. Gradial offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental & vision insurance, 401K retirement plan, paid time off, paid sick leave and other employee wellness programs.

What we offer

• Performance-based annual bonus
• Meaningful equity awards
• Medical, dental & vision (fully covered for employees with 75% for dependents)
• Fertility & family-planning support
• 401k plan
• Unlimited PTO
• A beautiful Seattle office with a gym, sauna, and bike parking
• Free lunch three days a week in our HQ
• A front-row seat to building category-defining AI infrastructure

You'll thrive here if you

• Learn quickly, actively seek out new challenges, and regularly reconsider “how it’s always been done.”
• Want to have real impact with zero bureaucracy.
• Have an innate drive for being 1% better than the day before, building towards greatness.
• Embrace AI as a core tool for problem-solving, innovation, and scale.
• Show customer-obsession (internal or external), high ownership/accountability, and bias for action.
• Communicate clearly, directly, with curiosity, and assuming good intentions.
• Thrive in fast-paced, hyper-growth environments where building better > maintaining status quo.

AI Literacy & Interviewing Tools

As an AI-first company, we prioritize AI literacy as a core competency in our hiring decisions. We’re excited by candidates who thoughtfully apply AI tools in their work, but during interviews we’re focused on you. This is your opportunity to show how you think, communicate, and solve problems. Over-reliance on AI-generated responses during the interview process (especially when it obscures your own voice) will result in disqualification. We want to understand your unique perspective and how you approach challenges, both with and without AI.

Gradial is dedicated to creating an environment where diverse perspectives are valued and all team members can grow. We offer competitive compensation, equity, flexible work hours, comprehensive benefits, and a collaborative culture focused on learning and impact.