Forward Deployed Engineer

Company: Encord
Location: San Francisco
Posted on: January 17, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description About us At Encord, we're building the AI infrastructure of the future. The biggest challenge AI companies face today is foundational – as the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” implies – the biggest challenge in engineering high performance models is all about data quality. For 95% of teams, this essential step is both the most costly, and the most time-consuming in getting their product to market. As ex-computer scientists, physicists, and quants, we felt first-hand how the lack of tools to prepare quality training data was impeding the progress of building AI. AI today is what the early days of computing or the internet were like, where the potential of the technology is clear, but the tools and processes surrounding it are still primitive, preventing the next generation of applications. This is why we started Encord. We are a team of 100, working at the cutting edge of visual and multimodal AI. Encord is backed by top investors, including CRV, Y Combinator, and Next47, leading industry executives like Luc Vincent, former VP of AI at Meta, and other Bay Area AI leaders. We are one the fastest growing companies in our space, and consistently rated as the best product in the market by our customers. The role We’re looking for an exceptional Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our product engineering team. Our FDEs own the deployment of the Encord platform in our most strategic and advanced use-cases – working with customers daily to drive adoption and value delivery. As an early member of the Forward Deployed team, you will have an outsized impact shaping a critical function for Encord and our customers, and stepping into a role which can accelerate your career in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. You will become a product expert, and work with internal teams, both technical & commercial, to build a well-oiled engine that consistently enables customers to get up and running successfully, at scale. As an end-to-end owner of the deployment process, you will have a chance to work and grow on a variety of problems – technical engineering, operational excellent and strategic product work. Expect to build data integrations, guide customers with best practices, demo the product, and contribute to the product roadmap. You’re joining Encord at an inflection point — over the last 18 months, we've built a world-class team, raised our $30M Series B (from Next47, YC, Crane) and onboarded hundreds of the leading AI companies onto Encord. If you're ready to take ownership, solve complex problems, and help define the future of AI infrastructure, this role is for you! About you -You have 3-8 years of experience in a client-facing role in a high-intensity, fast-paced environment. -You're as comfortable handling in-the-weeds product configuration queries as you are communicating to executives about a project plan. -You are a great communicator and are motivated by building customer relationships and solving customer problems. -You enjoy running demos, hosting workshops and shipping solutions. -You derive energy from owning & successfully completing projects, and are great at balancing detail-focus with bigger-picture thinking. -You are highly organized and great at managing your time across many competing priorities. You're ambitious and care lots about your career. You're probably happiest when working really hard and solving challenging problems. You know this requires dedication & some sacrifice but you think it's worth it. You want to rise faster than would be possible in any 'normal' career and you're happy to roll up your sleeves and do whatever is required. You’ve consistently performed in the top percentile of whatever environment you’ve been in, whether in academia, business, sport, work, or whatever else you've put your mind to What we offer -Competitive salary, commission and equity in a hyper growth startup. -Real opportunities to grow. We’re growing insanely fast and you’ll have all the opportunities for growth that you can handle. -Strong in person culture. We're 3-5 days a week in our new loft office in North Beach. -Flexible PTO to recharge. -Annual learning and development budget. -18 Paid Vacation Days in the US federal holidays. -Lots of opportunities for travel (all around the US, to London & Europe). -Bi-annual off-sites and monthly socials.- Health, dental and vision insurance.

Keywords: Encord, San Francisco , Forward Deployed Engineer, Engineering , San Francisco, California