Forward Deployed Engineer

Stack

Responsibilities

• ▹Partner directly with customers to design, implement, and deploy end-to-end AI systems and workflows
• ▹Translate vague customer objectives into clear technical specifications, proof-of-concepts, and scalable production implementations
• ▹Own customer technical engagements end-to-end, from early discovery and architecture through deployment, monitoring, and expansion
• ▹Develop and maintain production-grade software systems, with a strong preference for Python
• ▹Build reliable, observable systems with strong attention to latency, throughput, quality, scalability, and cost efficiency
• ▹Debug and optimize AI systems across inference infrastructure, model behavior, APIs, and distributed workloads

Requirements

• ▹Strong software engineering experience building and maintaining production systems, Python strongly preferred
• ▹Experience working directly with customers in highly technical environments (e.g. Forward Deployed, Solutions Engineering, Applied AI Engineering)
• ▹Familiarity with AI/ML pipelines and the model development lifecycle
• ▹Experience deploying and operating production AI/ML systems in cloud or distributed environments
• ▹Familiarity with modern AI infrastructure and tooling (Docker, Kubernetes, APIs, model serving systems)
• ▹Strong communication and collaboration skills working through complex technical topics

Nice to have

• ▹Experience building, deploying, or optimizing large-scale AI/ML systems in production
• ▹Experience with modern AI stacks and tooling such as vLLM, TensorRT, Ray, LangGraph, vector databases, or workflow orchestration
• ▹Familiarity with inference optimization, distributed systems, or GPU-accelerated workloads
• ▹Startup experience or highly cross-functional environments
• ▹Track record of rapidly shipping proof-of-concepts and production systems with strong engineering quality

Soft skills

What we offer

• ▹Annual base salary: $120,000–$250,000, discretionary bonus and meaningful equity
• ▹Comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage (U.S.); private medical and dental insurance (U.K.)
• ▹Retirement and financial wellness support (U.S.); pension contribution (U.K.)
• ▹Generous paid time off plus holidays
• ▹Paid parental leave
• ▹Professional development support
• ▹Wellness and work-from-home stipends
• ▹Flexible work environment

About the company

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning, founded in 2019. It builds an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems. Through its merger with Voltage Park, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. It operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London.