Senior Forward Deployed Engineer — AI & data platform clients

Nilus Talent is a boutique sourcing agency. This is a pool posting: we're sourcing senior forward deployed engineers for AI and data platform teams at client companies, and one application covers the family of roles we're actively filling — not a single seat.

The work: lead complex end-to-end deployments with clients' most strategic customers — own discovery, technical scoping, system design, build, and production rollout. Build full-stack systems that deliver customer value, contribute directly in the code when progress or clarity depends on it, and engage directly with customer stakeholders, from technical teams to executives. Codify working patterns into tools, playbooks, or building blocks others can use. These are hybrid roles — typically three days a week in office — with travel to customer sites: up to 25% on most teams, up to 50% on some.

What we look for: 5+ years of engineering or technical deployment experience that includes customer-facing work; the ability to write and review production-grade code across frontend and backend using Python, JavaScript, or comparable stacks; production experience with LLMs, including prompt engineering, agent development, evaluation frameworks, and deployment at scale; a track record of scoping and delivering complex systems in fast-moving or ambiguous environments; clear communication with engineers, product teams, and customer stakeholders. Former technical founders are encouraged to apply.

Salary: $185,000–$280,000 a year. That's the band across the client teams we source for; where a given role lands in it depends on the client and your level. Equity typically comes on top.

The process has 4 steps. Apply below — it takes about 2 minutes, and there's no cover letter. We send you one link to a readiness check that adapts to what you already know. You choose whether to share your results with us. If you finish strong, we put you forward to hiring teams.

We're a sourcing agency, and we'd rather be plain about what that means: completing the readiness check places you in our submission pool. We don't guarantee interviews or placement. The preparation is free and yours to keep, whatever happens.