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Forward Deployed Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Figma

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

Forward Deployed Engineers at Figma sit at the intersection of engineering, product, and our most strategic customers. In this role, you'll work hands-on with customers adopting emerging Figma ...

Figma

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Forward Deployed Engineers at Figma sit at the intersection of engineering, product, and our most strategic customers. In this role, you'll work hands-on with customers adopting emerging Figma ...

Workstream

Forward Deployed Engineer

Menlo Park, CA · On-site

Forward Deployed Engineers at Workstream act more like startup operators or technical mini-GMs for strategic deployments-owning customer outcomes, shipping production systems quickly, and shaping the ...

Workstream

Forward Deployed Engineer

Menlo Park, CA · On-site

Forward Deployed Engineers at Workstream act more like startup operators or technical mini-GMs for strategic deployments-owning customer outcomes, shipping production systems quickly, and shaping the ...

Handshake

Staff Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$265K - $295K/yr

About the Role As a Staff Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll define and drive the technical strategy for how Handshake delivers engineered solutions to our most strategic customers, including leading ...

Rime Labs

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Forward Deployed Engineer Location: San Francisco Reports To: Head of Forward Deployed Engineering OTE : $185,000 - $235,000 About Us Rime builds voice AI for enterprises running customer experiences ...

Vercel

Forward-Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

We are looking for a Forward-Deployed Engineer to join our Professional Services team. This is not a traditional consulting role-you will embed directly with our most strategic enterprise customers ...

Encord

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

The role We're looking for an exceptional Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our product engineering team. This is an engineering-first role: FDEs are the technical owners who take the Encord ...

Encord

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

The role We're looking for an exceptional Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our product engineering team. This is an engineering-first role: FDEs are the technical owners who take the Encord ...

Evolver

Forward Deployed Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

Role Overview We are looking for a Forward-Deployed Integration Engineer who excels at hands-on technical work, customer interaction, and real-world problem solving. In this role, you will work ...

JLL

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA

Forward Deployed Engineer About JLL Our people at JLL are shaping the future of real estate for a better world by combining world class services, advisory and technology for our clients. We are ...

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Forward Deployed Engineer information

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How much do forward deployed engineer jobs pay per hour?

As of Jul 26, 2026, the average hourly pay for forward deployed engineer in California is $55.26, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $39.62 and $73.56 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What engineer makes $500,000 a year?

A Forward Deployed Engineer at top tech companies, such as those working in high-stakes environments like finance or defense, can earn $500,000 or more annually, especially with experience, bonuses, and stock options. These roles often require advanced technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and sometimes security clearances or specialized certifications.

What does a typical day look like for a Forward Deployed Engineer?

A typical day for a Forward Deployed Engineer involves working closely with clients to understand their unique needs, designing and implementing software solutions, and troubleshooting issues as they arise. You'll spend time writing code, configuring systems, and sometimes traveling to client sites to provide on-the-ground support. Collaboration is frequent, as you'll interact with both internal product teams and client stakeholders to ensure solutions are effective and aligned with project goals. This role offers variety and the opportunity to solve challenging, real-world problems while directly impacting the client's success.

How much does a Forward Deployed Engineer make?

A Forward Deployed Engineer typically earns between $100,000 and $160,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company. They often work in fast-paced environments requiring strong problem-solving skills and familiarity with cloud platforms and programming languages.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Forward Deployed Engineer position, and why are they important?

A Forward Deployed Engineer needs strong problem-solving abilities, expertise in software engineering, and the capacity to work directly with clients, often backed by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with programming languages (such as Python, Java, or C++), cloud platforms, and version control systems is commonly required, along with experience deploying technical solutions. Excellent communication, adaptability, and teamwork skills help these engineers excel when navigating client needs and collaborating with cross-functional teams. These capabilities are vital to delivering tailored solutions efficiently while ensuring successful client outcomes in demanding, real-world environments.

Is a Forward Deployed Engineer a good job?

A Forward Deployed Engineer is a technical role that involves working closely with clients to deploy and customize software solutions, often requiring strong problem-solving and communication skills. The position typically offers competitive salaries, opportunities for rapid skill development, and exposure to cutting-edge technologies, making it a desirable career choice for those interested in engineering and client interaction.

What is a Forward Deployed Engineer job?

A Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is a technical role that combines software engineering with customer-facing problem-solving. FDEs work closely with clients to deploy, customize, and optimize software solutions, often integrating complex systems into their workflows. They need strong coding skills, domain expertise, and the ability to translate business needs into technical solutions. The role typically involves travel, hands-on implementation, and collaboration with internal engineering teams to enhance products based on real-world use cases. It is ideal for those who enjoy both technical challenges and direct customer engagement.

What engineers make 200,000 a year?

Forward Deployed Engineers at top tech companies often earn $200,000 or more annually, especially with experience, stock options, and bonuses. High salaries are common in roles requiring advanced coding skills, knowledge of cloud platforms, and strong problem-solving abilities in fast-paced environments.
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Forward Deployed Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Forward Deployed Engineer job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 50% In-person, and 50% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $114,938 per year, or $55.3 per hour.

Forward Deployed Engineer

Scaled Cognition

Mountain View, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 28 days ago

Job description

Scaled Cognition is the world’s only model lab dedicated exclusively to customer experience and pioneering agentic models purpose-built for reliable action-taking enterprise applications. Backed by Khosla Ventures, the company’s flagship Agentic Pretrained Transformer (APT) eliminates hallucinations, enforces enterprise policies and increases reliability in real-world CX workflows. Founded by serial AI entrepreneurs, former Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Conversational AI Dan Roth, and UC Berkeley AI Professor Dan Klein, and built by a team of world-class PhD researchers and engineers, Scaled Cognition advances the science of agentic AI to deliver safe, policy-aligned automation that enterprises can trust.

As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll have significant autonomy to build, test, and deploy AI agents that solve real problems across industries. You'll work directly with customers to understand their challenges, collaborate with our research team to push the boundaries of what's possible, and partner with product and engineering to ship solutions that work.

This isn't about prompt engineering or wrapping existing LLMs. You'll be working with a novel model architecture that reasons deterministically—building the future of reliable AI agents from the ground up.

As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Scaled Cognition you will:

  • Design and build AI agents for customers across finance, healthcare, legal, operations, and more—tailored to their specific domain requirements

  • Work with the research team to expand our models' reasoning capabilities and add new domains of expertise

  • Partner directly with customers to iterate on implementations, gathering feedback that shapes our platform roadmap

  • Build robust evaluation frameworks to rigorously test agent performance and reliability across edge cases

  • Create reusable patterns and tools that make it easier to deploy agents in new domains

Example projects could include:

  • A multilingual banking support agent that handles account inquiries, financial transactions, and compliance workflows across 12+ languages

  • A retail agent that manages complex product customization requests, inventory checks, and order modifications in real-time

  • A telecommunications agent that diagnoses hardware issues, walks customers through troubleshooting steps, and escalates to technicians when needed

You might be the right person for the job if you:

  • Love working directly with customers and translating their needs into technical solutions

  • Are excited about building agentic systems and exploring what's possible at the frontier of AI capabilities

  • Thrive in ambiguous environments where you have the autonomy to define the path forward

Key Qualifications:

  • Have 3+ years of experience as a software engineer, with a track record of shipping production systems

  • Strong Python skills and familiarity with modern AI agent development

  • Previous experience in a customer-facing technical role (solutions engineer, forward deployed engineer, etc.)