> 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. # Forward Deployed Engineer Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/5ed9e8e8098a61db Enlighten AI Labs posts a FDE role to build what the customer runs in Chicago, IL, at $135,000–$175,000 base, level with the mid-level FDE median of $149,000 across 106 postings with pay. Build and deploy customer-facing software and data workflows, owning scoped implementations from investigation through handoff in collaboration with customers and senior engineers. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [Enlighten AI Labs](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/enlighten-ai-labs) First seen Nov 3, 2026 · open on Rippling as of Nov 8, 2026 **$135,000–$175,000** *annualized* Chicago, IL Build and deploy customer-facing software and data workflows, owning scoped implementations from investigation through handoff in collaboration with customers and senior engineers. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F5ed9e8e8098a61db&placement=top) - [View posting at Enlighten AI Labs](https://ats.rippling.com/enlightenailabs/jobs/94172525-0546-451e-8a9c-867655226c85) 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 $135K–$175K Level with the median Midpoint $155K · median $149K This job $135K to $175K. Mid-level FDE postings, 106 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $123K to $162K, median $149K. ### The work Builds what the customer runs Balance **Mostly building** Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations (not covered) - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Mid - **Role**: Individual contributor ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting reads as a mid-level role. What level are you at now? The job is in Chicago, IL. 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) ## Conditions - **Location**: Chicago, IL ## More like this [Enlighten AI Labs](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/enlighten-ai-labs) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/57a7beaf15db53b2) Atlanta, GA New · 4d ago Pay not posted [Accordion](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/accordion) ### [Senior Software Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/72a07d97973bb794) Boston, MA · Charlotte, NC · +4 more Hybrid 1mo ago $110,000–$200,000 [PwC (US)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/pwc-us) ### [Forward Deployed Software Engineering - Experienced Associate](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/9b207d5311355e0b) New York, NY · Boston, MA · +1 more 2mo ago $63,000–$153,000 - [Other jobs at Enlighten AI Labs (3)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/enlighten-ai-labs) ## The job description from Enlighten AI Labs ### About Enlighten At Enlighten, we believe AI should expand what people can take on. We build teams of AI agents alongside Fortune 500 companies so they can put their best thinking to work across the business. We want the people closest to the work to be able to ask hard questions and get answers they can trust. Our mission is to give every team the intelligence it needs to make decisions that shape the business. ### Benefits ### Eligible employees can enroll in medical, dental, and vision coverage. ### About the role You'll build software alongside customers and see firsthand how they use it. You'll own a piece of the deployment from investigation through handoff, working with senior engineers on decisions that affect the broader system. ### What you'll do - Work with customers and delivery leads to understand what users need to do, what data is available, and how they'll know the solution works. - Build and test the APIs, data mappings, and application features that deliver agent-generated insights into existing customer workflows. - Run multiple AI agents in parallel every day to map unfamiliar systems and prototype fixes. Build custom apps for data checks, troubleshooting, or repeatable customer tasks, and verify the results before handing them off. - Reproduce and diagnose issues across APIs, datasets, and applications. Share what you've verified and propose a fix. - Write meaningful tests and clear handoff notes. Flag scope changes, access needs, and production risks early, and share fixes other deployments can reuse. - Implement regression checks using the analysts’ expected results. Make saved analyses rerunnable with the same checks, and trace failures across source data, agent runs, and the customer-facing output. ### What you bring - Experience shipping working software, with examples of problems you personally investigated and delivered through completion. - Working proficiency in Python or TypeScript, SQL, APIs, and modern software development practices. - Comfort learning unfamiliar data platforms, applications, and customer workflows. - Practical use of multiple AI agents and the ability to build a small custom app or automation with their help. - The judgment to verify generated code and data outputs, protect customer information, and seek review when a change warrants it. - Clear written and spoken communication with teammates and customers. - Initiative, persistence, and a willingness to take ownership of a defined outcome while sharing progress and blockers early. - Experience with cloud platforms, data warehouses, or customer-facing technical delivery. - Experience with React, FastAPI, automated testing, or AI workflow orchestration. - A small app, automation, or open-source contribution you can explain and demonstrate. - You work independently. You can take an unclear goal, decide what to do first, find what you need, and carry the work through to a result. You bring people in early when a decision, risk, or dependency needs their input. ### How we work AI agents are core to how we get work done. You'll spend a substantial part of your day running multiple agents in parallel, building tools and workflows with them, and checking what they produce. You own the result. Verify the facts, calculations, code, and claims before they go into a decision, a customer conversation, or a release. When working with clients, take initiative within the agreed goals, scope, access permissions, and review process. Bring options and recommendations, and involve the right people before changing a customer commitment or production workflow. ### What success looks like - You deliver scoped customer workflows that work against the agreed data and acceptance criteria. - Your code, tests, and documentation make the work straightforward to review and maintain. - You resolve unfamiliar problems with increasing independence and make good use of senior review. - Your agents and custom tools remove repetitive work without introducing unchecked outputs. ### Pay range Chicago, IL: 135,000 - 175,000 USD per year [View posting at Enlighten AI Labs](https://ats.rippling.com/enlightenailabs/jobs/94172525-0546-451e-8a9c-867655226c85) ## About Enlighten AI Labs Enterprise AI analytics company offering analyst and measurement QA products alongside analytics and data infrastructure services. 1–10 people ## Similar jobs [Accenture](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/accenture) ### [Enterprise AI Transformation Consultant](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/acce46d73a6442bf) Chicago, IL · Milwaukee, WI · +40 more 12d ago $54,400–$196,000 [Capgemini](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/capgemini) ### [Capgemini Invent - Senior Consultant, Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/0014ace4470c3ce5) Seattle, WA · New York, NY · +4 more 2mo ago $112,600–$212,700 [Endeavor](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/endeavor) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/d9b832dd64d37c26) Chicago, IL On-site New · 5d ago $150,000–$180,000 [Focused](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/focused) ### [Platform Engineer, AI Infrastructure](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/7feb3482fb151d04) Chicago, IL Hybrid New · 4d ago $145,000–$175,000 [BCG](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/bcg) ### [BCG Platinion | Senior AI Tech Architect - AI Platforms](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/a4c47c8ee4f67d78) Atlanta, GA · Austin, TX · +16 more 5mo ago $150,000 - [Compare mid FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/mid-level) - [Similar jobs in Chicago](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?region=chicagoland) - [Similar jobs that build what the customer runs](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=builds-for-customers) Hiring at Enlighten AI Labs and want this page changed or removed? 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