> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt.

# Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/160095c9c45ee8af

jeffreym-consulting posts a senior FDE role to build what the customer runs in San Francisco, CA, at $180,000–$250,000 base, above the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,866 postings with pay. Own end-to-end deployments of an AI agent platform for major semiconductor customers, working directly in strict on-prem and air-gapped environments. Read from the employer’s posting on November 6, 2026.

- [jeffreym-consulting](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/jeffreym-consulting)

Published November 6, 2026 · Updated November 6, 2026

**$180,000–$250,000** *annualized* San Francisco, CA On-site Senior Today

Own end-to-end deployments of an AI agent platform for major semiconductor customers, working directly in strict on-prem and air-gapped environments.

- [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F160095c9c45ee8af&placement=top)
- [View posting at jeffreym-consulting](https://apply.workable.com/j/86AEC5FADE/apply)

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## At a glance

### Posted base pay

$180K–$250K Above the median

This job $180K to $250K. Typical senior FDE pay, the middle 50% of 1,866 postings: $160K to $220K, median $190K.

### The work

Builds what the customer runs

Balance

1. Mostly building
2. Mixed
3. Mostly pre-sales or support

Project stages

1. Pre-sales (not covered)
2. Proof of concept (not covered)
3. Implementation
4. Operations

Travel **Required, amount not stated**

- **Coding**: Writes production code

- **Builds for**: External customers

- **Level**: Senior

- **Role**: Technical lead

### What they ask for

Experience

- **2+ years** SWE, FDE, Solutions Engineer, or CAD/Infrastructure Engineer experience
- **6+ years** SWE, FDE, Solutions Engineer, or CAD/Infrastructure Engineer experience

Visa

- **Sponsors visas**

### Do you meet what the posting states?

The posting asks for 2+ years. How many do you have?

The job is in San Francisco, CA. Could you work there?

Which of these have you used in production?

Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent.

[What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths)

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## The job description from jeffreym-consulting

### Description

Our client is an early-stage, venture-backed AI startup developing cutting-edge technology to automate complex workflows in semiconductor design and verification. Their platform uses AI agents to streamline repetitive engineering tasks, capture institutional knowledge, and help chip design teams identify issues earlier and work more efficiently.

Backed by prominent Silicon Valley investors, the company is a small, highly technical team building innovative solutions for some of the world's leading semiconductor companies. The team works in person in San Francisco.

We are looking for a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer with 2–6 years of experience to own our client's deployments at some of the largest chip companies in the world. You're a highly technical, high-ownership engineer (think early Palantir FDE, founding engineer, or past founder) who can debug a complex AI agent platform live inside strict on-prem, air-gapped customer environments. No chip background required: this is a way into semiconductors without a PhD in chip design.

This is not a typical FDE role. You won't write throwaway custom code; you'll debug a real AI agent product and shape the roadmap with what you learn in the field.

### Must work 5 days/week onsite in San Francisco.

**Visa Sponsorship: H-1B transfers ** **only**

### What You'll Own:

- Own 1–2 large enterprise chip customer engagements end to end (3–6+ months each), from evaluation through deployment and expansion
- Debug platform (Python backend, React frontend, AI agents) in real time on customer screens, across Linux, containers, networking, and filesystems
- Drive adoption by running trainings, tracking and documenting issues, and closing the loop when fixes ship
- Contribute to the core product when there is no customer fire, and feed field learnings back into the roadmap
- Travel occasionally to customers in the South Bay, Texas, and possibly Asia

### Requirements

- Proven track record owning multiple technical customer engagements or deployments end to end at the same time (FDE, founding engineer, or past founder)
- Deep Linux/Unix and systems expertise: hands-on container setup (Podman/Docker), networking, ports, NFS, symlinks, permissions
- Strong Python and the ability to quickly internalize and debug a large codebase
- Bachelor’s degree in CS, EE, ECE, ME, or a related engineering field from a top 40 engineering school
- 2–6 years as a SWE, FDE, Solutions Engineer, or CAD/Infrastructure Engineer at a seed to Series E startup or top tech company
- Able to work on-site in San Francisco 5 days a week

### Preferred Qualifications

- Experience at a top AI, defense, or hardware company (e.g. Palantir, Databricks, Scale AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX, Anduril)
- Past experience as a startup founder, founding engineer, or in AI/ML

### Benefits

Comp range: $180-250K annually, competitive equity

[View posting at jeffreym-consulting](https://apply.workable.com/j/86AEC5FADE/apply)

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- [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior)
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## Conditions

- **Location**: San Francisco, CA

- **Work arrangement**: On-site

- **Employment type**: Full-time

- **Visa sponsorship**: Available

- **Travel**: Travel required, amount not stated

Employer postings · [How we read postings](https://nextmove.md/fde/method)