Forward Deployed Engineer

Job description

WHO WE ARE Our mission is to make the world programmable. Sight is one of the key ways we understand the world, and soon this will be true for the software we use, too. We’re building the tools, community, and resources needed to make the world programmable with artificial intelligence. Roboflow simplifies building and using computer vision models. Today, over 1M+ developers, including those from half the Fortune 100, use Roboflow’s computer vision AI open source and hosted tools. That includes counting cells to accelerate cancer research, improving construction site safety, digitizing floor plans, preserving coral reef populations, guiding drone flight, and much more. Roboflow is supported by great customers and investors, having raised over 63 million from Y Combinator, Google Ventures, Craft Ventures, Sam Altman, Lachy Groom, amongst other leading software investors. Roboflowers are passionate builders who value ownership, accountability, and a bias toward action. We’re curious, hands-on with new tech, and prefer showing our work over talking about it. Many of us have a founder mindset and thrive in our high-autonomy environment. WHAT YOU’LL DO We’re hiring Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) to be the first technical hands on our new customer’s Roboflow deployments. After our Sales and Solutions Architecture team closes a deal and validates the technical approach, you step in to take it from proof-of-concept to production, the critical 0-to-1 phase where vision meets reality. You’ll embed directly with new Customers, working alongside their engineering and operations teams to build and deploy their first production computer vision workflows on Roboflow. This is the most difficult, important and rewarding phase of the customer journey. Infrastructure is unfamiliar, data pipelines need to be built, edge devices need to be configured, and models need to perform in real-world conditions, not just in a demo or a lab. The FDE role is more than just execution, you are also our eyes and ears in the field. You'll see the gap between what a Customer thinks they want, and what they actually need. That insight is invaluable, and you'll feed it directly back to our Product and Engineering teams, shaping the Roboflow platform and solution offerings. The best FDEs don't just deploy solutions; they surface the problems worth solving next. Once you’ve proven the deployment works in production and the customer’s team is equipped to operate it, you hand off to our Implementation Engineers who scale, optimize, and expand the solution across additional use cases. You’re the tip of the spear, the person who makes the first deployment work, no matter what it takes; the adventurer, the explorer, the builder. Five years from now, FDE at Roboflow on a resume should mean what a few years at Palantir or a FAANG company means. That's the bar we're hiring against. ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES - 0-to-1 Deployment: Take validated proof-of-concepts from the pre-sales process and build the first production deployment. This includes data pipeline setup, model optimization, edge device configuration, and integration with customer infrastructure. - Edge-First Engineering: Deploy and operate computer vision systems on edge hardware in physical environments. Where conditions are unpredictable and connectivity is unreliable. This is hands-on, hardware-heavy work. - Embed with Customers: Work on-site or deeply embedded with the customer’s engineering team during the initial deployment phase (typically 4–12 weeks per engagement). Build trust, transfer knowledge, and establish the foundation for long-term success. - Production Engineering: Write production-grade code that will live in the customer’s environment. Handle the messy realities of real-world computer vision: lighting variability, camera calibration, model drift, network latency, and edge hardware constraints. - Be Our Eyes and Ears in the Field: You'll be closer to the customer's real problems than anyone else at Roboflow. You'll surface the gap between what the customer says they want, what they actually need, and what the machine operators on the floor think. That feedback loop back to Product and Engineering shapes what we build next, and it's one of the most valuable things FDEs bring back to the company. - Knowledge Transfer & Handoff: Document your deployment architecture, create runbooks, and train the customer’s team so they can operate the system independently. Provide a clean handoff to Roboflow’s Implementation Engineers for scaling and expansion. - De-risk New Deployments: Identify and resolve technical risks early. If a customer’s environment won’t support the planned architecture, you find the alternative before it becomes a project failure. - Shape the Deployment Playbook: Codify repeatable deployment patterns, starter templates, and reusable artifacts that make future deployments faster and more reliable. THE SKILLSET YOU’LL BRING - Meaningful experience deploying technology in physical-world environments. We value breadth, working across different industries, hardware platforms, and deployment contexts, over depth at a single company. The best FDEs we've hired have built things in factories, warehouses, construction sites, or labs before ever touching a vision model. - Strong proficiency in Python; experience with systems-level work (Docker, Kubernetes, networking, Linux) is highly valued. - Hands-on experience deploying machine learning or computer vision models to production; you understand the gap between a working notebook and a reliable pipeline. - Experience with edge computing hardware and constraints (NVIDIA Jetson, industrial cameras, limited connectivity, on-premise security requirements). - Excellent troubleshooting and debugging skills; you’re the person who figures out why it works in staging but not in production. - Strong interpersonal skills - you'll be embedded with customer teams and need to build trust quickly while navigating their internal dynamics. You'll talk to executives, engineers, and machine operators, sometimes in the same meeting. - Experience in one or more of Roboflow’s target verticals: manufacturing, logistics, food processing, automotive, or retail. - Willingness to travel ~40–50% for on-site customer deployments. PREFERRED ATTRIBUTES - Experience in a professional services, deployment engineering, or forward deployed engineering role. - Familiarity with CV/MLOps tooling and practices (model versioning, monitoring, retraining pipelines). - Deep industrial subject matter expertise. The kind of person who can walk onto a production line and immediately start asking the right questions about throughput, defect rates, and inspection points. - Background in IoT, embedded systems, or infrastructure engineering alongside hands-on deployment experience. - You're a tinkerer outside of work. You own a 3D printer, you've got Raspberry Pis running something in your house, you're constantly tweaking your home network or smart home setup. You enjoy figuring out why something doesn't work as much as you enjoy building it in the first place. WHO YOU’LL BE WORKING WITH Our team of ~120 attracts talent like executives that wanted to return to building, founders with a 100M+ exit, Roboflow users turned team members, open source contributors, a cyclist who biked across the United States, prolific high school hackers, a CTO from 100+ engineering organization, amongst many exceptional others. As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you’ll be partnering directly with our co-founder/CEO and Sales leadership to not only do great work in the role, but shape how this function works for the future of Roboflow. WHERE YOU’LL WORK Roboflow is distributed across the US and Europe. We currently have Hubs in New York City, San Francisco and São Paulo (with plans to open more as we grow density in new cities). We provide opportunities (like team onsites in different cities) and resources (like a $4000/yr travel stipend) to work in person with other team members as much as you’d like, while also supporting remote team members. You can work from one of our Hubs (we offer a relocation bonus), work from home, work at co-working spaces, etc. We want you to work where you work best! WHEN YOU’LL WORK Roboflow primarily operates during the daytime hours in the US and there are some synchronous meetings you’ll be expected to attend each week. Apart from that, we have a flexible schedule that allows you to work collaboratively with other team members and asynchronously when needed. WHAT YOU’LL RECEIVE To determine your salary, we use a number of market and data-driven salary sources. We review all salaries every six months to ensure we stay in line with the market. The target base compensation for this role is $180,000–$250,000, with additional equity compensation. Compensation and scope of ownership will be determined based on demonstrated capability, expected impact, and the needs of the business. Target OTE: $ In addition to our cash compensation, we offer generous perks and benefits: - $4000/yr Travel Stipend to travel anywhere anytime to work alongside other Roboflowers - $350/mo Productivity stipend to spend on things that make your work environment more productive, like high-speed internet at home or a co-working space - $350/mo AI Tools - $150/mo Team lunch - $500/one time Home office - Cover up to 100% of your health insurance costs for you and your partner or family - Equity in the company so we are all invested in the future of computer vision INTERVIEW PROCESS (~5 HOURS) Below is the interview process you can expect for this role. We are all motivated to work with an exceptional team, who you’ll be speaking directly with about what it’s like to work and thrive at Roboflow. We like to be decisive and work fast, so don’t be surprised if all the below conversations happen over a few days. Before the Interview: - We’ll review your application, LinkedIn, Github, etc. - The best way to stand out is to write about something you’ve built with Roboflow or contribute to one of our open source projects. - We may send you a technical screen if applicable. Introduction Phase: - [45m] Meet with hiring manager to assess for overall mindset and skillset Team Interview Phase: - [60m] Technical Assessment - live coding or architecture session - [30m] Demo - build a project with Roboflow and share your work Final Interview Stage: - [30m] Meet with Head of Operations, for a culture discussion - [30m] Meet with Joseph Nelson, CEO Note: you are welcome to request additional conversations with anyone you would like to meet and we will accommodate as best we can. NOT SURE IF THIS IS YOU? We want a diverse, global team with a broad range of experience and perspectives. If this job sounds great, but you’re not sure if you qualify, look into our Former Founders role or subscribe to our career newsletter by emailing “Subscribe” to operations@roboflow.com. We carefully consider every application and will either move forward with you, find another team that might be a better fit, keep in touch for future opportunities, or thank you for your time. LEARN MORE ABOUT US We are building a diverse Distributed team that is distributed across the globe. Roboflow is an equal opportunity workplace; we welcome people from all backgrounds, communities, and experiences. We provide competitive compensation and stellar benefits to accelerate your personal and work life. Learn more about what it is like to work at Roboflow by reading these blog posts. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY At Roboflow, we believe great ideas come from everywhere, and everyone. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.