Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SF
$185k - $300k • San Francisco • FullTime
Posted 1mo ago
Remote Work Policy
On-site
Employment Type
FullTime
Categories
AI Engineer
About the job
OpenAI's Forward Deployed Engineering team partners with customers to turn research breakthroughs into production systems, operating at the intersection of customer delivery and core platform development. Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) lead complex end-to-end deployments of frontier models in production alongside our most strategic customers. You will own discovery, technical scoping, system design, build, and production rollout, partnering directly with customer engineering and domain teams. Success will be measured through production adoption, measurable workflow impact, and eval-driven feedback that influences product and model roadmaps. You'll work closely with Product, Research, Partnerships, GRC, Security, and GTM teams.
Responsibilities
- Own technical delivery across multiple deployments from prototype to stable production.
- Build full-stack systems that deliver customer value and improve learning.
- Embed with customer teams to understand needs and guide adoption of built solutions.
- Scope work, sequence delivery, and proactively remove blockers.
- Make trade-offs between scope, speed, and quality, adjusting plans to ensure delivery.
- Contribute directly to code when necessary for progress or clarity.
- Codify working patterns into reusable tools, playbooks, or building blocks.
- Share field feedback to inform Research and Product teams about model performance.
- Maintain team momentum through clear communication and follow-through.
Requirements
- 5+ years of engineering or technical deployment experience, including customer-facing work.
- Experience scoping and delivering complex systems in fast-moving or ambiguous environments.
- Proficiency in writing and reviewing production-grade code across frontend and backend using Python, JavaScript, or comparable stacks.
- Experience building or deploying systems powered by LLMs or generative models, with an understanding of how model behavior impacts product experience.
- Ability to simplify complexity and make fast, sound decisions under pressure.
- Clear communication skills with engineers, product teams, and customer stakeholders.
- Skill in identifying risks early and adjusting plans without losing momentum.
- Ability to model calm and judgment in high-stakes situations.
Benefits
- Relocation assistance
- Travel up to 50% required