Founding Forward Deployed Engineer
Raydar
Founding Forward Deployed Engineer
Raydar
AI-powered recruiting agency for tech roles
Raydar · New York, United States · Full-time · Posted 2026-08-07
Salary: USD 100,000–210,000
Workplace: on_site
About the company
Our client is an AI-first permanent-capital software group that acquires mission-critical vertical SaaS companies and operates them for the long term. The company has raised more than $50M, acquired eight businesses in under two years, and is building a shared applied-AI platform across its portfolio. Distribution, executive sponsorship, customer relationships, and deployment budgets are already in place.
The role and why it matters
This is a founding Forward Deployed Engineer role with direct access to the co-founders and Head of AI. You will build and deploy applied-AI products across multiple vertical software companies, identify repeatable patterns, and turn successful deployments into reusable platform capabilities.
What you'll do
• Run discovery with executives and operators, translate business problems into product specifications, and build AI workflows from scratch.
• Own full deployment lifecycles from zero-to-one implementation through customer adoption.
• Work on-site with customer decision-makers and technical teams across portfolio companies.
• Build shared data models, ontologies, and workflow infrastructure that connect deployments into reusable vertical products.
• Partner directly with the co-founders, Head of AI, and portfolio CTO to define and execute the applied-AI strategy.
• Help establish the Forward Deployed Engineering pod, operating model, and technical standards.
What we're looking for
• 3 to 5 years of hands-on software engineering or forward-deployed engineering experience.
• A track record leading technical deployments from discovery through production and adoption.
• Strong full-stack engineering, systems architecture, and data-pipeline fundamentals.
• Experience building with LLMs, applied machine learning, or AI workflow systems.
• Ability to work directly with C-level customers and translate ambiguous operational needs into shipped products.
• Founder-minded ownership, autonomy, and comfort operating without extensive structure.
• Willingness to travel frequently to customer sites.
Bonus points
• Experience productizing patterns across multiple deployments or customers.
• Experience with vertical SaaS, enterprise software, or portfolio-company environments.
• Familiarity with ontology-driven platforms or centralized enterprise data models.
• Experience helping build an engineering team or new technical function.
Location and work model
• Full-time role based in New York City or Chicago.
• Five days per week in the office, with frequent customer travel.
• Candidates must already be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
• $200,000 to $300,000 base salary.
• Competitive equity.
• Founding-level ownership of a new applied-AI business.
• Direct access to company founders, portfolio executives, and customer decision-makers.
Powered by Workable
Raydar is an AI-powered talent acquisition firm that serves tech-focused organizations on a contingency basis, charging client companies only after a successful hire. It uses proprietary AI to identify a large pool of candidates and conducts a short 15-minute AI-driven interview (recorded and transcribed) before human recruiters review materials, provide interview prep, and assist with offers and negotiations. What sets it apart is the blend of automated sourcing and screening with hands-on human oversight and tailored client support. Its goal is to help organizations hire more efficiently by speeding up sourcing while maintaining thorough evaluation and negotiation assistance.
Explore more opportunities at Raydar