> 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. # Director, Forward Deployed Researcher - Data as a Service Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/69c38ceeea80a075 Snorkel AI posts a director FDE role to lead deployment teams in New York, NY +1 · US remote, at $228,000–$403,200 base, above the staff+ FDE median of $225,000 across 388 postings with pay. Leads the Forward Deployed Research function supporting frontier AI labs with training-data strategy, RL environments, evaluation frameworks, and technical solution design. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [Snorkel AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/snorkel-ai) Posted Mar 25, 2026 by Snorkel AI · open on Greenhouse as of Nov 8, 2026 **$228,000–$403,200** New York, NY +1 · US remote Remote Full-time Leads the Forward Deployed Research function supporting frontier AI labs with training-data strategy, RL environments, evaluation frameworks, and technical solution design. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F69c38ceeea80a075&placement=top) - [View posting at Snorkel AI](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/snorkelai/jobs/5837448004) 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 $228K–$403K Above the median Midpoint $316K · median $225K This job $228K to $403K. Staff+ FDE postings, 388 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $197K to $262K, median $225K. ### The work Leads the deployment team Project stages 1. Pre-sales 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation (not covered) 4. Operations (not covered) - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Staff+ - **Role**: People manager ### What they ask for Experience - **8+ years** applied ML, AI solutions engineering, technical presales, or research-intensive customer-facing roles *Preferred* - **5+ years** managing or leading technical individual contributors *Preferred* Background - **Solutions and customer engineering** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 8+ years. How many do you have? The posting reads as a staff-level 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**: New York, NY · San Francisco, CA · US remote - **Work arrangement**: Remote - **Remote work restrictions**: Remote within the United States; hybrid options in New York City and San Francisco - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Pay**: ## More like this [Fieldguide](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/fieldguide) ### [Head of Deployed Engineering](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f2bf39c185070fc9) San Francisco, CA Remote 3w ago $240,000–$390,000 [Cisco](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/cisco) ### [Director, Solutions Engineer Forward Deployed - Splunk (Remote)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/42f94fc86921f66e) New York, NY Remote 3w ago $307,600–$468,200 [Stripe](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/stripe) ### [Engineering Manager, Forward Deployed (Privy)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/43fada52a5ce0259) New York, NY 5mo ago $236,000–$354,000 - [Other jobs at Snorkel AI (7)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/snorkel-ai) ## The job description from Snorkel AI Posted by Snorkel AI on Mar 25, 2026 ### About Snorkel Snorkel AI is the frontier AI data lab, helping teams build the data and environments behind high-performing frontier and agentic AI. We combine technology with research-driven AI data development to create datasets, benchmarks, evals, and custom solutions for real-world AI systems. Founded out of the Stanford AI Lab in 2019, Snorkel works with leading AI labs and enterprises to move from better data to better outcomes. Excited to help us redefine how AI is built? Apply to be the newest Snorkeler! ### About the Role Snorkel AI is hiring a Director, Forward Deployed Researcher on the Data-as-a-service team. Your team will partner directly with frontier AI labs on their hardest data problems: scoping training data needs, designing RL environments, developing evaluation frameworks, and translating customer research objectives into actionable technical plans. This is a player-coach role. Roughly half your time goes to people leadership (hiring, coaching, developing your team) and the other half to hands-on technical work on strategic accounts. You set the technical bar for spec quality and build the playbooks and processes that let the team scale. You influence how the function operates, from process and standards to team culture. You partner closely with AE leadership on pipeline strategy, account coverage, and SE allocation. You also work cross-functionally with Delivery, Research, and Engineering to ensure smooth handoffs. The right person for this role can hold their own with frontier AI researchers, has strong presales instincts, and wants to build a team. ### Main Responsibilities - Recruit, hire, and develop the forward deployed research team, coaching the team on technical quality, customer engagement, and career growth - Set and maintain the technical bar for specifications, evaluation frameworks, and customer deliverables - Own SE capacity planning and account coverage; partner with AE leadership on deal strategy, engagement prioritization, and pipeline forecasting - Establish team processes and playbooks for discovery, spec development, and knowledge sharing - Lead technical conversations on select strategic accounts, including scoping, solution design, and partnership with frontier AI research teams - Serve as escalation point for technically complex or high-stakes customer situations ### Preferred Qualifications - 8+ years of experience in applied ML, AI solutions engineering, technical presales, or research-intensive customer-facing roles - 5+ years managing or leading technical individual contributors, ideally in a presales or solutions engineering org - Strong expertise in frontier AI concepts including LLMs, training data pipelines, evaluation methodologies, post-training techniques (RLHF, DPO, RLAIF), and domain areas such as coding agents, reasoning, multimodal models, or RL environments - Track record of hiring and developing technical talent - Experience operating against revenue or pipeline goals in a GTM organization - Excellent communication skills, able to coach a team, partner with sales leadership, and engage credibly with frontier AI researchers - Ability to work in a fast-moving environment, comfortable with ambiguity and rapid iteration - B.S. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field ### Be Your Best at Snorkel Joining Snorkel AI means becoming part of a company that has market proven solutions, robust funding, and is scaling rapidly — offering a unique combination of stability and the excitement of high growth. As a member of our team, you'll have meaningful opportunities to shape priorities and initiatives, influence key strategic decisions, and directly impact our ongoing success. Whether you're looking to deepen your technical expertise, explore leadership opportunities, or learn new skills across multiple functions, you're fully supported in building your career in an environment designed for growth, learning, and shared success. Snorkel AI is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Snorkel AI embraces diversity and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. Snorkel AI prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, performance, merit, and business need. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. The base salary range for this position is $228,800–$403,200, depending on location, experience, and qualifications. This role is also eligible for variable compensation and equity. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors including skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location. Salary range(s) for this role $228,000—$403,200 USD ### Be Your Best at Snorkel Joining Snorkel AI means becoming part of a company that has market proven solutions, robust funding, and is scaling rapidly—offering a unique combination of stability and the excitement of high growth. As a member of our team, you’ll have meaningful opportunities to shape priorities and initiatives, influence key strategic decisions, and directly impact our ongoing success. Whether you’re looking to deepen your technical expertise, explore leadership opportunities, or learn new skills across multiple functions, you’re fully supported in building your career in an environment designed for growth, learning, and shared success. *Snorkel AI is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Snorkel AI embraces diversity and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. Snorkel AI prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, performance, merit, and business need.* *We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.* [View posting at Snorkel AI](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/snorkelai/jobs/5837448004) ## About Snorkel AI Data-centric AI platform and expert-data provider that helps enterprises and frontier labs build, evaluate, and tune specialized models and agents. Series D · 500–1000 people ## Similar jobs [OpenAI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/openai) ### [Manager, Applied AI Engineering (Enterprise)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/9b612508e6525cc3) New York, NY Hybrid 4mo ago $251,000–$335,000 [Amazon (incl AWS)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/amazon-incl-aws) ### [Director, Product Management — Forward Deployed Engineering, AWS Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f6e94d87514d5da3) East Palo Alto, CA · Boston, MA · +1 more 7w ago $237,500–$350,000 [Chalk](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/chalk) ### [Director, Forward Deployed Engineering](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/47c6797aead04cf6) San Francisco, CA On-site 2mo ago $300,000–$350,000 [Percepta](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/percepta) ### [Applied AI Engineer - Manager](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f22c1bc1523b1cde) New York, NY On-site 2mo ago $250,000–$425,000 [Lovable](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/lovable) ### [Forward Deployed Engineering Lead](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/ca312bb59d8ca6cb) New York, NY On-site 2mo ago $241,000–$390,500 - [Compare staff+ FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/staff) - [Similar jobs in New York metro](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?region=nyc-metro) - [Similar jobs that lead deployment teams](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=leadership) Hiring at Snorkel AI and want this page changed or removed? 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