Protege
AI
ForwardDeployedEngineer-NewVerticals
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Mid+ candidates.
“Forward Deployed Engineer - New Verticals at Protege. Skills: 0→1 work, Technical foundation, Customer engagements. Build technical foundation. Define vertical needs technically”
What You'll Achieve.
Build understanding of vertical; Gain context on customer landscape; Understand customer and platform needs; Identify highest-leverage technical bets; Ship first version infrastructure; Lead customer engagements end-to-end; Create reuse; Drive productization; Surface repeatable patterns; Elevate proven capabilities
Industry & Context.
Solve hard problems; Push through obstacles
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
3+ years engineering experience, Meaningful 0→1 work, Engineering generalist instincts, Backend and data orientation, Hands-on Python experience, Hands-on SQL experience, Comfort across infrastructure, Comfort across application logic, Comfort across data systems, Create structure where none exists, Move quickly without roadmap, Technical judgment, Written communication skills, Verbal communication skills, Work directly with senior stakeholders, Independently run technical scoping, Translate customer requirements into plans
Nice to Have
Prior founding engineer experience, Experience extending existing platform, Track record of turning customer work into reusable infrastructure, Familiarity with ML, Familiarity with NLP, Familiarity with LLM-based systems
What You'll Do.
Build technical foundation
Define vertical needs technically
Build reusable patterns
Build reusable integrations
Build reusable tooling
Make architectural decisions
Create initial technical playbook
Own first deals end-to-end
Lead customer engagements
Solve immediate customer problems
Compound code into infrastructure
Navigate real-world complexity
Translate customer requirements
Shape what becomes product
Identify repeatable use cases
Surface infrastructure gaps
Surface product opportunities
Determine vertical readiness
Partner with Solutions Lead
Partner with Data Lab
Collaborate with other FDEs
Serve as technical voice
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Partner with product engineering; Partner with Product; Partner with Engineering; Partner with Data Lab; Collaborate with other FDEs
Communication Scope
Verbal communication; Written communication
Full Job Description
Company Overview: We are building Protege to solve the biggest unmet need in AI — getting access to the right training data. The process today is time intensive, incredibly expensive, and often ends in failure. The Protege platform facilitates the secure, efficient, and privacy-centric exchange of AI training data. Solving AI’s data problem is a generational opportunity. We’re backed by world-class investors and already powering partnerships with some of the most ambitious teams in AI. The company that succeeds will be one of the largest in AI — and in tech. We’re a lean, fast-moving, high-trust team of builders who are obsessed with velocity and impact. Our culture is built for people who thrive on ambiguity, own outcomes, and want to shape the future of data and AI. ROLE OVERVIEW We’re hiring a founding Forward Deployed Engineer to help build a new vertical from the ground up. You’ll be the first FDE dedicated to this vertical, working directly with the GM to define the market, strategy, and early commercial motion. Your job is to turn early customer demand into durable technical capability: defining what the vertical needs, building reusable infrastructure on top of our existing platform, and establishing the technical patterns that future engagements and future hires can build on. This is not a standard implementation role. It sits at the intersection of engineering, product judgment, and customer reality. You should be excited to work from first principles, operate in ambiguity, iterate quickly, and partner with product engineering to make strong calls about what should become a core platform capability versus what should remain vertical-specific. WHAT YOU'LL DO Build the Technical Foundation - Partner with the GM and early customers to define what the vertical actually needs technically. - Build the first MVP of reusable patterns, integrations, and tooling that future engagements will run on, leveraging our core platform where it fits and extending it where th
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