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.
Requirements
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.
Benefits
• $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.
Skills Required
- 3 to 5 years of hands-on software engineering or forward-deployed engineering experience
- Track record leading technical deployments from discovery through production and customer 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
- Must already be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship
- 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
What We Do
Raydar is a talent acquisition and business consulting firm that connects world-class and emerging talent with growing organizations. It supports companies through team development, strategic hiring, and customized growth solutions, helping clients recruit roles such as engineers, product managers, executives, legal counsel, and quantitative traders. Raydar focuses on understanding each organization’s needs, culture, and long-term goals to build high-impact teams.
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