> 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. # AI Engineer, Lead Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/7385f7a8daf147a4 Distyl AI posts a senior FDE role to build what the customer runs in San Francisco, CA and 1 more, at $200,000–$250,000 base, above the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,864 postings with pay. Leads architecture, delivery, and continuous improvement of production AI systems for large enterprise customers, combining models, agents, retrieval, evaluation, and execution. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [Distyl AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/distyl-ai) Posted Jun 18, 2026 by Distyl AI · open on Ashby as of Nov 8, 2026 **$200,000–$250,000** + equity San Francisco, CA +1 Hybrid Full-time Leads architecture, delivery, and continuous improvement of production AI systems for large enterprise customers, combining models, agents, retrieval, evaluation, and execution. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F7385f7a8daf147a4&placement=top) - [View posting at Distyl AI](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Distyl/553bd8ed-25f2-4bcf-817a-f17ddc816896/application) 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 $200K–$250K Above the median Midpoint $225K · median $190K This job $200K to $250K. Senior FDE postings, 1,864 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### 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 Travel **Up to 30%** - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Technical lead ### What they ask for Experience - **8+ years** engineering experience Background - **Software engineering** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 8+ years. How many do you have? The posting reads as a senior role. What level are you at now? The job is in San Francisco, CA · New York, NY. Could you work in one of these? 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**: San Francisco, CA · New York, NY - **Work arrangement**: Hybrid - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Travel**: Up to 30% - **Pay**: ## More like this [Sim](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/sim) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f40e24220cfe7740) San Francisco, CA On-site 6w ago $190,000–$250,000 [Ramp](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/ramp) ### [Software Engineer, Forward Deployed](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/21f743fd2edf89c3) New York, NY Hybrid 2w ago $168,000–$285,000 [OpenAI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/openai) ### [Applied AI Engineer, Enterprise - EDU](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/4b0baa0ee913def4) New York, NY · San Francisco, CA Remote New · Yesterday $251,000–$278,000 - [Other jobs at Distyl AI (6)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/distyl-ai) ## The job description from Distyl AI Posted by Distyl AI on Jun 18, 2026 ### About Distyl AI Distyl is an applied AI technology company partnering with the world’s most ambitious institutions to rearchitect critical operations for the frontier of AI. Our customers include the largest companies in telecom, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, consumer goods, and global social organizations. We research and deploy technologies that power AI-native operations — both for our partners and for Distyl itself. Our work spans research into self-constructing systems, the development of the most reliable execution of AI systems, and products that transform mission-critical workflows. As a result, Distyl's technologies affect some of the world's largest operations — from hundreds of millions of consumer interactions to tens of millions of supply chain transactions and millions of patient journeys. Distyl is backed by leading investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Coatue, DST Global, and the board-members of 20+ F500s. ### What We Are Looking For AI Engineers are hands-on technical leaders who own the architecture, execution, and delivery of critical production AI systems for large enterprise customers. They make technical decisions, lead project delivery, coach engineers, and partner closely with customer stakeholders and Distyl’s AI strategy team to ensure systems deliver real business value. This role is for engineers who want ownership over production outcomes: shaping system architecture, leading technical execution, working directly with customers, and improving AI systems under real-world constraints. ### Key Responsibilities - Lead and mentor a team of AI Engineers—owning technical direction, code quality, execution standards, and individual growth - Design and implement AI systems that combine models, agents, retrieval, evaluation, and execution into coherent, production-ready systems aligned with real business outcomes - Work directly with customer stakeholders, often in high-visibility settings, and communicate clearly about system behavior, tradeoffs, limitations, and paths to improvement - Operate and improve live AI systems by measuring behavior, identifying failure modes, debugging issues, and rapidly iterating on quality, reliability, and usefulness - Integrate AI systems into customer data platforms, APIs, and existing applications. Make pragmatic system design decisions that balance speed, robustness, maintainability, and long-term operability - Take accountability for outcomes in production and adapt systems as requirements evolve ### Who You Are - **8+ years of engineering experience**, including experience as a tech lead or engineering lead on customer-facing or production AI projects - **Ownership mentality for AI systems.** You take responsibility for whether an AI system delivers its intended value in production. You are comfortable making independent technical decisions across system design, evaluation, integration, and iteration - **Technical leadership in teams.** Management experience is not required, but you should have led engineers through technical decision-making, execution, mentorship, and delivery. Growth in this role includes taking on broader technical and leadership scope over time - **Strong solutions architecture fundamentals:** You have experience with cloud systems, system integrations, API design, and data engineering. You can understand how an AI system fits into a broader enterprise ecosystem and operate as a peer to customer architecture and engineering teams - **AI-Native Working Style:** You use AI tools daily to write and debug code, explore designs, analyze data, and automate repetitive work. You are curious about new model capabilities and techniques, and actively incorporate them into how you build and iterate on systems - **Willingness to travel: **Travel is typically 10–30%, depending on the project, customer needs, and your role on the engagement ### What We Offer - The base salary range for this role is $200-$250K, depending on experience, location, and level. In addition to base compensation, this role is eligible for meaningful equity, along with a comprehensive benefits package - 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and dependents - Flexible time off - Retirement and financial planning benefits, including access to pre-tax HSA, FSA, and commuter accounts, 401(k), and financial coaching resources - Comprehensive wellness benefits, including physical fitness, mental well-being, and fertility and family-building benefits through Carrot - Complimentary in-office lunches and snacks provided - Access to state-of-the-art AI models, generous usage of modern AI tools, and real-world business problems - Ownership of high-impact projects across top enterprises - A mission-driven, fast-moving culture that values curiosity, pragmatism, and excellence Distyl has offices in San Francisco and New York. This role follows a hybrid collaboration model with 3+ days per week (Tuesday–Thursday) in‑office. We believe diverse perspectives make our work stronger and more impactful. We are an equal opportunity employer and evaluate all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply. [View posting at Distyl AI](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Distyl/553bd8ed-25f2-4bcf-817a-f17ddc816896/application) ## About Distyl AI Builds AI-native enterprise systems for Fortune 500 operators, combining forward-deployed teams with Distillery to turn domain knowledge into auditable production workflows. Series B · 100–200 people ## Similar jobs [jeffreym-consulting](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/jeffreym-consulting) ### [Senior Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/160095c9c45ee8af) San Francisco, CA On-site New · 2d ago $180,000–$250,000 [Joyful Health](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/joyful-health) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/22795913cd1c6605) New York, NY Hybrid New · 4d ago $150,000–$275,000 [Decagon](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/decagon) ### [Agent Deployment Engineer - Spanish Speaking](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/3a43d393a714090b) San Francisco, CA On-site 3mo ago $175,000–$230,000 [Wafer](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/wafer) ### [Member of Technical Staff](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/7cacb3e166260f2d) San Francisco, CA On-site 3mo ago $250,000–$250,000 [Electric Plant](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/electric-plant) ### [Applied AI Engineer, Agent Systems](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f95c45890b5366ff) San Francisco, CA On-site 7w ago $215,000–$235,000 - [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior) - [Similar jobs in New York metro](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?region=nyc-metro) - [Similar jobs that build what the customer runs](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=builds-for-customers) Hiring at Distyl AI and want this page changed or removed? 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