Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

Job description

## **About Us** Founded in 2021, Axion is at the forefront of transforming product quality and customer satisfaction in manufacturing. Our cutting-edge AI-powered platform empowers manufacturers to swiftly identify, thoroughly investigate, and effectively resolve quality issues while simultaneously elevating customer experiences and outcomes. As trailblazers in end-to-end quality intelligence, we're setting new industry standards. Our innovative approach enables industrial, aerospace, consumer, and medtech manufacturers to harness the power of quality and post-market data, driving down costs and boosting business performance. Our vision extends beyond mere problem-solving; we're committed to reshaping the future of manufacturing. By seamlessly integrating advanced AI technology with deep industry expertise, Axion is paving the way for smarter, safer, and more efficient production processes across diverse sectors. Backed by leading investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Amplo, Boeing, and RTX Ventures, Axion is poised to lead the quality revolution in manufacturing. ## **About the Role** We're building our first Forward Deployed Engineering team to turn those opportunities into software customers use. You'll be one of the first two engineers shaping the function, with the responsibility to understand a customer's problem, decide what is worth building, and take the solution from an initial idea to a reliable deployment. This is a hands-on software engineering role. You will write and review code, work through messy data, design integrations and applications, and own how your software behaves after release. You'll also spend time with customers: asking questions, observing workflows, explaining tradeoffs, and testing whether what you've built actually solves the problem. You'll report to our Head of Strategic Accounts and work alongside our account-facing Solutions Directors, and have a dotted-line relationship with Engineering. You'll combine direct customer engagement with substantial hands-on build time. The role is based in New York or San Francisco with 25-50% travel. **Two paths into the role.** You may have already worked as an FDE or customer-facing software engineer, with real ownership from discovery through deployment. You may also be a strong software engineer ready for more customer exposure. For that second path, meaningful manufacturing or industrial workflow experience is particularly important. We care more about what you've built and owned than whether you've held the FDE title. ## **Key Responsibilities** - **Understand and scope.** Work directly with customer business and technical teams to identify a valuable use case. Turn broad requests into a focused scope, clear acceptance criteria, and a practical delivery plan. Know when existing Axion capabilities are sufficient, when new software is needed, and when a request should be narrowed or declined. - **Build and deploy.** Design and implement the data integrations, business logic, APIs, applications, and AI-enabled workflows needed for the solution. Deliver usable software iteratively, with tests, clear interfaces, appropriate access controls, and a deployment approach agreed with Engineering. Use AI where it helps; use deterministic software where correctness and repeatability call for it. - **Validate and own.** Reconcile outputs against source data and agreed business rules. Evaluate model behavior when AI is part of the solution. Work with users to validate accuracy, usability, and business value. Monitor deployments, resolve issues, document how the system works, and establish a clear ongoing support model. - **Help the work scale.** Partner with account teams to connect technical delivery to customer adoption and new use cases. Work with Product and Engineering to identify patterns worth reusing, rather than creating a separate product for every customer. Help establish the engineering practices, delivery standards, and working relationships for the FDE team. ## **What you Bring** - **Engineering.** Strong software engineering fundamentals and a track record of personally shipping and maintaining production software. You can work independently across backend/application logic, data models, APIs, testing, and debugging. You're comfortable reasoning about reliability, permissions, failure cases, and the tradeoffs between a fast first release and a maintainable system. - **Useful experience.** Python and SQL; full-stack application development with TypeScript/React or comparable tools; enterprise data and API integrations; applied AI or agent workflows with rigorous evaluation; and manufacturing, quality, reliability, supply-chain, or service operations. You do not need every item on this list. Strong engineering judgment and demonstrated delivery are more important than familiarity with a particular framework. - **Customer ownership.** You enjoy understanding how people work and translating an ambiguous problem into a useful solution. You communicate clearly with technical and nontechnical colleagues, take responsibility for outcomes, and can push back constructively when a request is not the right thing to build. You're comfortable operating in a small team without waiting for a fully specified backlog. ## **What Success Looks Like** Customers are using new workflows that would not otherwise have been delivered, can explain the value those workflows create, and have a clear reason to expand their use of Axion. Your software is dependable, your scope decisions are thoughtful, and the work leaves the next deployment easier—not harder—to deliver. ## **Who You Are** You’re a builder and operator who thrives in fast-moving, high-accountability environments. You take pride in getting things done — thoughtfully, efficiently, and without drama. You’re energized by ambiguity, skilled at bringing clarity, and comfortable flexing between strategy and execution. You value feedback — giving it, receiving it, and acting on it — and you see collaboration as a competitive advantage, not a burden. You’re low-ego but high-agency: you care about winning as a team more than being right individually. You move quickly, communicate directly, and make decisions grounded in impact and data. You don’t need constant direction — you create momentum. You take ownership for outcomes, and you expect the same from those around you. ## **How We Operate** We move fast, work smart, and hold ourselves to a high bar. Axion is a place for people who take pride in their craft and are motivated by meaningful work. We respect time off and boundaries, but we’re also realistic: hard problems sometimes require weekend pushes or late-night thinking sessions. We support that balance — intensity with respect for recharge. We stay highly collaborative and connected throughout the day — much of our communication happens over Slack. We move quickly, share feedback often, and keep discussions open so decisions and context flow freely. If you value crisp communication, rapid iteration, and a steady hum of collaboration, you’ll fit right in. ## **We** - **Collaborate deeply.** Feedback is part of how we build — everyone has a voice, and ideas win on merit. - **Leave ego at the door.** Titles don’t define value; contribution does. - **Bias toward action.** We iterate fast and favor progress over perfection. - **Communicate with clarity.** Direct, transparent, and always in service of the mission. - **Act like owners.** Everyone is accountable for outcomes, not just tasks. - **Sustain excellence.** We push hard but don’t glorify burnout — we’re in this for the long game. If you want to help shape a company redefining how manufacturing operates — and you thrive in a culture that rewards ownership, speed, and candor — you’ll feel at home here ## **What We Offer** - Work with cutting-edge AI technology making a tangible impact in manufacturing - Collaborative, mission-driven team and supportive leadership - Generous time off - Competitive compensation, equity, and benefits Ready to drive the future of manufacturing with AI? Apply today to join our team and help us build the category-defining platform for quality intelligence. Axion is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity, or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.