> 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. # Mechanical Forward Deployed Engineer Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/418515f0a9ecdab0 CoLab Software posts a FDE role to plan what the customer deploys first in US with no pay posted. Map customer engineering workflows and define adoptable target-state processes. Read from the employer’s posting on November 6, 2026. - [CoLab Software](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/colab-software) Posted Sep 11, 2026 by CoLab Software · open on Greenhouse as of Nov 6, 2026 Pay not posted US Remote Full-time Map customer engineering workflows and define adoptable target-state processes. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F418515f0a9ecdab0&placement=top) - [View posting at CoLab Software](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/colabsoftware/jobs/5419274008) Free. Upload your resume once, see why each FDE role fits, and get introduced only when you say so. ## At a glance ### Posted base pay Not posted Senior FDE postings, 1,849 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### The work Plans what the customer deploys first Balance **Mixed** Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations Travel **Required, amount not stated** - **Coding**: Configuration only - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Technical lead ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting reads as a senior role. What level are you at now? The work is remote from the US. Can you work from the US? 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) ## Conditions - **Location**: US - **Work arrangement**: Remote - **Remote work restrictions**: Remote within Eastern or Central time zones in Canada or the US. - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Travel**: Travel required, amount not stated ## More like this [CoLab Software](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/colab-software) ### [Mechanical Forward Deployed Engineer - Cincinnati](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/dd28da83ddcef556) Cincinnati, OH Remote 8d ago Pay not posted [Doss](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/doss) ### [Senior Forward Deployed Product Manager](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/d3d88f6a394e10a0) US Remote New · Yesterday $120,000–$210,000 [Lyric](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/lyric) ### [Forward Deployed Supply Chain Engineer (US)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/a8295786fe284b04) US Remote 2mo ago $100,000–$170,000 - [Other jobs at CoLab Software (2)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/colab-software) ## The job description from CoLab Software Posted by CoLab Software on Sep 11, 2026 ### About CoLab At CoLab, we help mechanical engineering teams bring life-changing products to market years sooner. We build AI for engineers designing cars, medical devices, and jet engines. Products this complex aren't sketched and sent to production. Teams spend months on iterations, reviews, and tests, predicting how every part performs before anything is built. CoLab is where those reviews happen, and we capture the rationale behind every change. Other tools show what changed between versions. Only CoLab knows why. That's how our AI helps manufacturers like Bobcat, Triumph Motorcycles, and GE Appliances make better decisions, eliminate rework cycles, and get to market faster. Proudly based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, CoLab started with one customer in 2018. Since then we’ve raised a $72M Series C, been named the 57th fastest growing company in North America by Deloitte (Fast 500™), signed multi-year AI partnerships with companies like Bombardier, and grown to a team of 250+. ### About the Role This is a high-impact role that helps define how CoLab delivers technical value to its most strategic customers. CoLab is a category-creating product, which means adoption isn't just a rollout. It's a change in how the organization works. In this role, you'd act as a trusted advisor, leveraging people, process, and technology to help teams rethink how they manage feedback, data, and decision-making across design and PLM. That means getting deep into customer workflows, testing new ways of working, and building repeatable methods the rest of the team can scale. You'll work alongside a Customer Success Manager, and use what you learn on the front line to help shape product direction. This role isn't about selling or pitching. It's about deeply understanding engineering problems and solving them alongside the customer. ### Our Ideal Candidate You’re a mechanical engineer by trade and have worked as a designer. You also understand the full product development life cycle: how design, manufacturing, quality, and engineering leadership depend on each other, and where collaboration breaks down. You can coach those teams toward working together better. You know how to improve that life cycle with technology. Maybe you’ve championed internal tools or created automation or scripts. You also know a process that makes sense on paper won’t get adopted on its own. You can meet people where they are, including the stakeholders who don’t want to change. You don’t need to be the loudest voice in the room, but you can run a sprint and lead a cross-functional project. If the average person might find this job too undefined or complex, that probably excites you. ### Job Responsibilities - Mapping a customer's current-state design review and engineering workflows, and defining the target-state process their teams will actually adopt. - Deploying and tuning CoLab's AI capabilities against a customer's own standards, drawing checklists, and design guidelines, and diagnosing what's working and what isn't. - Providing mechanical engineering expertise to validate AI-generated results and ensure engineering rigor. - Investigating and solving complex engineering data and integration challenges across PLM, ERP, QMS, and traditional design feedback tools. - Expanding adoption into new teams, programs, and sites within the account, partnering with the Customer Success Manager on where the next opportunity sits. - Collaborating with product teams to identify feature gaps, improve capabilities, and refine AutoReview. ### Qualifications ### Must-haves - Background in mechanical design engineering, ideally in a medium- to large-sized organization. - Strong understanding of PLM & ERP systems and enterprise engineering data architecture. - Demonstrated ability to lead technical projects and cross-functional collaborations. - Experience working directly with customers or internal stakeholders to solve technical problems. - Comfort working in fast-changing, ambiguous environments. - Strong written communication and documentation skills. - Working knowledge of high-level AI architecture, specifically LLMs. - Familiarity with APIs, data integrations, and enterprise architecture concepts. ### Nice-to-haves - Experience with internal tool development, scripting, or automation. - Exposure to AI/ML tools applied to engineering workflows. - Prior work in design consulting or product development at scale. ### Travel Expectations While this is a fully remote role, travel is a consistent part of the job. There are two primary types of travel you can expect: - **Team Weeks:** Once per quarter, the sales team or entire company gets together in person. These typically involve traveling out on a Monday and returning on a Thursday or Friday. Two of these each year are held at our headquarters in St. John's, Newfoundland, and the others take place in more central locations that evolve as the team grows. - **On-sites:** For most of our large deployment customers, we will visit on-site during kick-off and key expansion opportunities. Most on-sites involve 2-3 days with the customer, with travel on either side. Travel is primarily within North America, and you can expect 4 customer on-sites per quarter. ### Extra Details - This is a full-time, permanent position with a competitive compensation package that includes stock options. - Unlimited paid vacation, extended health benefits, and RRSP/401k matching. - Remote-friendly within Eastern or Central time zones in Canada or the US. ### Equity Note Frequently cited statistics show that people who identify with historically marginalized groups are likely to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage you to help us break that statistic and apply even if you don't meet every single qualification—your potential is what matters most to us. [View posting at CoLab Software](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/colabsoftware/jobs/5419274008) ## About CoLab Software AI-powered EngineeringOS for mechanical and hardware teams that captures design-review knowledge and uses agents to flag issues before release. Series C · 100–200 people ## Similar jobs [Hippocratic AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/hippocratic-ai) ### [Deployment Strategist](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/2df0bff560c27c19) US Remote 6w ago Pay not posted [Lorikeet](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/lorikeet) ### [Forward Deployed Product Manager](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/52e289f98e5a2d47) US Remote 13d ago Pay not posted [Mitratech](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/mitratech) ### [Legal Deployment Strategist](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/d213c8f8ae9343e3) US Remote New · 2d ago $130,000–$150,000 [R1](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/r1) ### [Forward Deployed Process Engineer Lead - R37](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/2d2adcf9e6e9087a) US Remote 2w ago $152,163–$289,353.75 [Recidiviz](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/recidiviz) ### [Deployment Strategist](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/a089a7ddeace423a) New York, NY · Oakland, CA Remote 10d ago $99,750–$117,600 - [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior) - [Similar jobs that plan what the customer deploys first](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=strategist) Hiring at CoLab Software and want this page changed or removed? 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