Forward Deployed Engineer

Updated October 25, 2026

Pay not postedPalo Alto, CAOn-site12mo ago

This is a founding-stage Forward Deployed Engineer role at Simular, an AI agent startup.

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View posting at Simular

At a glance

Posted base pay

Not posted

Median $190K

Typical senior FDE payMiddle 50% of 1,819 postings$160K–$220K

The work

Builds what the customer runs

Balance

Mostly building
Mixed
Mostly pre-sales or support

Project stages

Pre-sales (not covered)
Proof of concept (not covered)
Implementation
Operations (not covered)

Coding: Writes production code
Builds for: External customers
Level: Senior
Role: Individual contributor

What they ask for

Tools

Python
Bash
JavaScript
AI agents
SaaS

Less common in FDE jobs

Company size: About 1–50 people13%
Company stage: Early16%
On-site37%
Individual contributor or manager: Individual contributor49%

Share of US FDE postings that state each fact.

The job description from Simular

Posted by Simular on Oct 13, 2025

Where multiple locations are listed for this role, the position may be based in any of those locations, with priority determined according to the order of listing.

What you’ll do

Partner directly with early customers to deploy and adapt Simular’s AI agents in real-world environments.
Translate customer needs into product features, prototypes, and integrations.
Write scripts and workflows to adapt our agents to customer-specific environments.
Build custom solutions, tools, and workflows that showcase the power of Simular in production.
Act as the bridge between customer-facing teams and core engineering/research - turning feedback into roadmap priorities.
Be a “founding multiplier”: scrappy, resourceful, and deeply customer-obsessed.

You might be a fit if

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field.
Strong scripting skills (Python, Bash, or JavaScript) and ability to quickly automate workflows.
Experience working with customers or in client-facing engineering roles. OR comfort working directly with customers and translating business needs into technical solutions.
Ability to thrive in ambiguous environments, balancing immediate problem-solving with long-term product thinking.
Strong communication and collaboration skills.
Bonus: experience with deploying SaaS or AI systems, consulting/solutions engineering, or customer-facing technical roles.

View posting at Simular