Forward Deployed Engineer

About FirstWork FirstWork is an applied AI company building the next generation of workforce operations technology. We work with companies across staffing, logistics, healthcare, and retail that manage large frontline workforces. These businesses deal with complex, highly manual processes involving hiring, onboarding, document verification, compliance, training, and ongoing workforce management. We're using AI agents to automate these workflows, working alongside human teams and integrating with the systems businesses already use. Having raised $15M in our Series A, led by Earlybird Venture Capital, bringing our total funding to $20M, we're entering an exciting phase of growth. With established enterprise customers and a growing product footprint, we're expanding beyond hiring and onboarding to build a comprehensive AI-powered workforce operations platform. About the Role We're looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to work at the intersection of product engineering, customer implementation, and applied AI. In this role, you'll work directly with enterprise customers to understand their hiring, onboarding, and compliance workflows and translate those requirements into working solutions using FirstWork. You'll own client implementations end to end, from discovery and solution design to integrations, automation, deployment, and ongoing support. You'll build integrations with external systems, configure AI-powered document verification workflows, develop automations, and work closely with our product and engineering teams to solve customer-specific challenges. This is a hands-on engineering role where you'll write code, solve real-world technical problems, interact directly with customers, and see the impact of your work in live enterprise environments. What Makes This Opportunity Exciting? - Work at the intersection of AI and engineering: Build practical solutions using AI agents, automation, APIs, and integrations. - Own implementations end to end: Take responsibility for turning complex customer requirements into working product experiences. - Solve real-world technical challenges: Work with diverse enterprise systems, complex workflows, and compliance requirements. - Work directly with customers: Collaborate with stakeholders ranging from recruiters and compliance teams to senior executives. - Shape the product: Bring customer learnings back to engineering and help turn repeated implementation challenges into reusable platform capabilities. What You'll Do - Lead enterprise client implementations from discovery through go-live, translating business processes into working hiring and onboarding workflows in FirstWork. - Build and maintain integrations with ATS, VMS, payroll, and HR systems using REST APIs, webhooks, and file-based data synchronization. - Design and configure AI-powered document verification pipelines for identity documents, licenses, certifications, and country-specific compliance requirements. - Build RPA automations for systems that lack APIs, including workflows such as timesheet entry and credential uploads. - Write scripts for data mapping, migrations, debugging, and reporting. - Investigate production issues, identify root causes, and collaborate with product and engineering teams to implement fixes. - Lead client calls, product demonstrations, and implementation status updates, communicating effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. - Work closely with customers to understand their operational challenges and recommend practical technical solutions. - Share customer feedback and implementation learnings with the product team to help build reusable features and improve the platform. What We're Looking For - 2–6 years of experience in software engineering, solutions engineering, implementation, or technical consulting. - Strong Python and SQL skills, with the ability to read, understand, and debug existing code. - Hands-on experience with REST APIs, JSON, webhooks, and third-party system integrations. - Ability to understand complex or loosely defined business processes and translate them into clear technical solutions. - Strong problem-solving and debugging skills. - Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. - A strong ownership mindset and the ability to drive implementations through to successful go-live. - Comfort working across time zones with US and European clients. Nice to Have - Experience with HR tech, staffing, ATS, or HRIS platforms such as Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or Salesforce. - Exposure to workforce compliance workflows, including I-9, W-4, right-to-work checks, background checks, or credentialing. - Experience with RPA tools, n8n, or workflow automation platforms. - Experience using LLMs for document extraction, validation, or AI-powered automation. - Previous experience in a startup or customer-facing technical role. Why Join FirstWork? - Build real-world AI solutions: Work on practical AI applications that automate complex enterprise workflows. - Combine engineering with customer impact: See how the systems you build directly improve business operations. - Take ownership: Drive implementations from initial discovery to production deployment. - Work across technology and product: Collaborate closely with engineering, product, and enterprise customers. - Grow with FirstWork: Join a growing applied AI company and help shape how enterprise AI solutions are built and deployed. Firstwork is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected status.