Forward Deployed Engineer

Location New York City HQ Employment Type Full time Location Type On-site Department R&D Join us as we deploy our Tesla-like, end-to-end vehicle commerce platform across the $1.2T vehicle retail industry. Proven scale: Tens of millions in vehicle revenue processed for 20+ leading brands and dealerships in just over a year. Trusted by all tiers: From publicly traded OEMs with billions in annual GMV to fast-growing newcomers and a broad dealer network. Backed to win: $17.2M raised from Activant Capital, JPMorgan, Winnebago, Y Combinator, the Tesla alumni fund, large dealership groups, and other strategic investors. Be part of the team building the infrastructure powering the next era of vehicle commerce. Forward Deployed Engineer We're looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer who lives in the codebase and in front of clients. This isn't a "talk about architecture on a whiteboard" role — you'll be shipping production code every day while serving as the technical face of Ekho to our partners. You'll architect, build, and deploy integration solutions, then get on a call with the client and walk them through it. Position Overview You'll split your time between hands-on engineering and client-facing technical leadership. On any given day you might be writing a custom integration in the morning, debugging a production issue over lunch, and leading a technical onboarding call in the afternoon. You'll own implementations end-to-end — from scoping requirements with a client to merging the PR. The ideal candidate is a strong engineer first who also happens to be an excellent communicator. You're comfortable diving deep into an unfamiliar codebase, shipping fast, and explaining complex technical tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders. Required Skills & Experience Strong hands-on engineering skills in React and Node.js — you write code daily, not occasionally Outstanding communication abilities to bridge technical and business conversations Experience leading client-facing technical projects and implementations Proven ability to translate client requirements into working, production-ready solutions Demonstrated success managing multiple stakeholder relationships Track record of improving technical processes and workflows Responsibilities Ship Code, Every Day Be in the codebase daily — building integrations, extending platform capabilities, and fixing what's broken Own features end-to-end: spec, build, test, deploy, monitor Work directly alongside our core engineering team to improve the platform based on what you learn from clients Technical Client Partnership Serve as the primary technical counterpart to clients, clearly communicating platform capabilities Develop and implement solutions that address client needs while benefiting our entire platform Build strong, trust-based relationships with clients as their technical advisor Technical Onboarding Ownership Lead end-to-end technical integration from contract signing to launch Make process improvements with a focus on developing self-serve onboarding capabilities Coordinate between clients, internal teams, and third-party stakeholders Rapid Product Implementation Implement quick technical wins based on client feedback Work closely with Operations and Customer Success to prioritize improvements Technical Environment Stack: React, Node.js (serverless), Express.js, NoSQL Tools: GCP, Firebase, Retool, Stripe, and various SaaS platforms Compensation & Benefits Competitive cash compensation + meaningful equity (early-stage upside) Health, dental, vision insurance 401(k) Free lunch and dinners $700/year work setup stipend Annual team offsite #J-18808-Ljbffr Ekho Dealer (YC S22)