Lightning AI

AI

ForwardDeployedEngineer

$120–250k New York, New York, United States Remote Friendly
The Brief

“Forward Deployed Engineer at Lightning AI. Skills: AI systems, Production deployment, Customer partnership, Platform development. Partner with customers to design AI systems. Implement AI systems”

What You'll Achieve.

Deliver production AI systems; Translate ambiguous business goals into reliable, observable systems; Achieve clear quality, latency, scalability, and cost outcomes; Help customers realize value quickly; Help customers scale with confidence

Industry & Context.

AI
Problems you'll solve

Solving ambiguous, real-world AI systems problems; Sound technical judgment; Thoughtful tradeoffs

Eligibility Requirements

Minimum of 2 in-office days per week, Occasional team and company offsites

What They're Looking For.

Must Have

software engineering experience building and maintaining production systems, Python, Experience working directly with customers in highly technical environments, Familiarity with AI/ML pipelines and the lifecycle of model development, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring, 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, distributed inference workloads, communication and collaboration skills, Ability to translate business needs into technical solutions, Ability to execute effectively in ambiguous, fast-moving, high-growth environments, Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field

Nice to Have

Experience building, deploying, or optimizing large-scale AI/ML systems in production environments, Experience with modern AI stacks and tooling, vLLM, TensorRT, Ray, LangGraph, vector databases, workflow orchestration systems, Familiarity with inference optimization, distributed systems, GPU-accelerated workloads, Startup experience, experience operating in highly cross-functional environments, Track record of rapidly shipping proof-of-concepts and production systems while maintaining engineering quality, Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, AI, or a related technical field

What You'll Do.

Partner with customers to design AI systems

Translate customer objectives into technical specifications

Develop production-grade software systems

Maintain production-grade software systems

Build reliable systems

Build observable systems

Collaborate with customer engineering teams

Collaborate with Lightning’s product teams

Collaborate with Lightning’s engineering teams

Improve platform capabilities

Influence roadmap priorities

Identify reusable product improvements

Select tools and approaches

Demonstrate ownership

Demonstrate accountability

Deliver high-quality outcomes

How You'll Work.

Team & Collaboration

Work closely with customer engineering teams; Collaborate cross-functionally with Lightning’s product and engineering teams; Work with cross-functional stakeholders

Communication Scope

Communication skills; Collaboration skills; Communicate complex technical topics

Process & Methodology

Drive projects from initial concept through production delivery

Free ATS check

Applying for this Forward Deployed Engineer role?

Most applicants get filtered before a human reads their resume. See if yours makes the cut.

How to Apply on Greenhouse

  • Create a Greenhouse profile before applying — it saves time across multiple applications.
  • Upload your resume as a PDF; the parser handles it better than Word.
  • Answer all knockout questions carefully — wrong answers auto-reject before a human sees you.
  • Enable email notifications to track application status in real time.

ANONYMOUS · UNFILTERED

What do employees actually say about Lightning AI?

Real rants from real employees. Read before you apply.

Read Company Rants →