$180,000–$220,000
Forward Deployed Engineer
Published · Updated
$180,000–$220,000San Francisco, CAHybrid
Own deployments of robotic and physical AI systems in live customer environments, spanning operational data collection, model fine-tuning, system setup, and production monitoring.
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View posting at CleraAt a glance
Posted base pay
$180K–$220KAbove the median
Median $188K
This job$180K–$220KTypical senior FDE payMiddle 50% of 1,837 postings$160K–$219KThe 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
Travel Up to 75%
- Coding
- Configuration only
- Builds for
- External customers
- Level
- Senior
- Role
- Individual contributor
What they ask for
Experience
Tools
Visa
Less common in FDE jobs
- Coding work: Configuration only13%
- Hybrid34%
Share of US FDE postings that state each fact.
The job description from Clera
Posted by Clera on
About the Role
Join a robotics and physical AI team deploying systems in live customer environments. You will own the deployment lifecycle, connect field learnings to model development, and help improve the reliability of real-world robotic systems.
What You'll Do
- Drive deployment cycles from operational data collection and model fine-tuning through system setup and production monitoring.
- Diagnose and resolve hardware, software, perception, and integration issues in field and production settings.
- Capture operational data and failure modes to inform foundation model training and system architecture.
- Troubleshoot integrations across perception hardware, compute stacks, and edge deployment environments.
- Travel to customer sites across the United States, adapting to changing field schedules.
What We're Looking For
- Two to eight years of hands-on experience deploying robotics or automation systems in factory, warehouse, or logistics environments.
- Experience in forward deployed engineering, field engineering, ML/AI operations, customer-facing technical work, or related robotics deployment roles.
- Practical debugging experience with perception hardware such as cameras, depth sensors, tactile sensors, or pressure sensors.
- Some familiarity with Vision-Language-Action models or learned robot policies, including academic or lab exposure.
- Comfort working across hardware and software, collecting data, and resolving production issues in a fast-moving environment.
- Willingness to travel 50% to 75% and work from the San Francisco office about three days per week.
- Hands-on experience with GPU compute stacks and edge deployment is beneficial. Korean language proficiency is also helpful.
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary is $180,000 to $220,000 annually, with an equity grant and medical, dental, and vision benefits. Visa sponsorship is not available for new applications; candidates with existing US work authorization or an H-1B eligible for transfer may be considered.
Location
Hybrid, based in San Francisco, California, with regular travel to customer sites across the United States.
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