Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

MCP is how AI connects to tools and data — the standard created by Anthropic and adopted by OpenAI, Google, Microsoft. We know because we helped establish it.

Our team built AI Actions for OpenAI, shipped Zapier Agents to millions of users, and launched the first remote MCP server with Anthropic. We're now building what enterprises need to adopt MCP safely.

Runlayer is the control plane for enterprise MCP — security, observability, and management that lets organizations connect AI to their systems without the risk. We raised $11M from Khosla Ventures and Felicis, and the creator of MCP is on our cap table.

We're a team of 15, mostly engineers, shipping fast and signing customers. If you want to work at the center of how AI gets things done — this is the moment.

We're hiring a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer (US–EU time zones) to work directly with our top enterprise customers, building custom MCP solutions and solving ad-hoc problems with code and AI.

• Impact: Build and deploy custom MCP servers that directly enable AI capabilities for the world's best companies, seeing immediate impact on their operations.

• Excellence: Work alongside top-tier engineers and directly with enterprise customers, learning from both technical challenges and business needs.

• Ownership: Take full ownership of customer relationships and technical solutions, from initial problem discovery through deployment and iteration.

• Build bespoke MCP servers for enterprise customers. You'll architect, develop, and deploy custom MCP servers tailored to each customer's specific systems, APIs, and workflows.

• Work directly with customers to understand their needs. You'll conduct discovery sessions, technical deep-dives, and ongoing collaboration to ensure solutions meet their exact requirements.

• Solve ad-hoc problems with code and AI. You'll tackle unique integration challenges, data transformation needs, and custom workflow requirements using both traditional coding and AI-assisted development.

• Iterate rapidly based on customer feedback. You'll continuously improve and extend MCP servers based on real-world usage patterns and customer requests.

• Bridge technical and business requirements. You'll translate business needs into technical specifications and communicate technical constraints to business stakeholders.

• Contribute to our MCP platform and tooling. You'll help improve our core platform based on insights gained from customer deployments and common patterns you identify.

• Senior engineering expertise. 4+ years of software engineering experience with proficiency in Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, and modern development practices.

• Customer-facing experience. Proven track record of working directly with enterprise customers, understanding their needs, and delivering technical solutions that meet business requirements.

• API and integration experience. Deep experience building integrations with various APIs, databases, and enterprise systems. Understanding of authentication, data transformation, and error handling patterns.

• AI and LLM familiarity. Experience working with AI/ML systems, understanding of LLM capabilities and limitations, and comfort with AI-assisted development workflows.

• Problem-solving mindset. Ability to quickly understand complex business problems, break them down into technical components, and build pragmatic solutions.

• Communication skills. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Rapid prototyping abilities. Comfort with building quick prototypes and MVPs to validate approaches before full implementation.

• MCP or agent framework experience. Direct experience with Model Context Protocol, FastMCP, Vercel AI sdk, Agents SDK, LangGraph, or similar AI agent frameworks.

• Enterprise software experience. Background working with enterprise systems like Salesforce, ServiceNow, Jira, Slack, or similar platforms.

• DevOps and deployment experience. Experience with containerization, cloud deployments, and CI/CD pipelines for customer-facing solutions.

• Security and compliance knowledge. Understanding of enterprise security requirements, data privacy, and compliance frameworks.

We provide a competitive package designed to attract and retain top talent who can work effectively with enterprise customers.

• Competitive salary and equity — compensation that reflects your expertise and customer-facing responsibilities.

• Paid time off — 4 weeks paid vacation, paid sick leave, and paid parental leave.

• Professional development — budget for conferences, courses, and certifications in AI, enterprise software, and customer success.

• Top-tier equipment — your choice of laptop and accessories to create your ideal work environment.

• Health benefits — comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.

• Customer interaction opportunities — work directly with innovative companies and see the immediate impact of your work.

Not quite the right fit? Reach out to [email protected] with details about your experience and interests.