> 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. # Applied Research Engineer Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/ec99a6997bc027a9 Applied Compute posts a FDE role to build what the customer runs in San Francisco, CA, at $200,000–$320,000 base, above the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,849 postings with pay. Own enterprise customer engagements from understanding their data and workflows through deploying agents, while feeding customer learnings back into the platform. Read from the employer’s posting on November 6, 2026. - [Applied Compute](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/applied-compute) Posted Oct 28, 2025 by Applied Compute · open on Ashby as of Nov 6, 2026 **$200,000–$320,000** + equity San Francisco, CA On-site Full-time Own enterprise customer engagements from understanding their data and workflows through deploying agents, while feeding customer learnings back into the platform. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2Fec99a6997bc027a9&placement=top) - [View posting at Applied Compute](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Applied%20Compute/cf3dba8d-d06a-48e1-8e91-2f11e0a463bd/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–$320K Above the median Midpoint $260K · median $190K This job $200K to $320K. Senior FDE postings, 1,849 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 (not covered) - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Individual contributor ### What they ask for Visa - **Sponsors visas** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting reads as a senior role. What level are you at now? The job is in San Francisco, CA. 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**: San Francisco, CA - **Work arrangement**: On-site - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Visa sponsorship**: Available - **Pay**: ## More like this [Sieve](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/sieve) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer, Physical AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/c01d9e4502e1f4bf) San Francisco, CA On-site 5mo ago $150,000–$350,000 [ChipAgents](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/chipagents) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/2ff7b7b2f9e8f946) San Jose, CA On-site 9d ago $180,000–$300,000 [Slash](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/slash) ### [Software Engineer, Growth](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/6af1c7119a35d995) San Francisco, CA On-site 5mo ago $200,000–$250,000 - [Other jobs at Applied Compute (1)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/applied-compute) ## The job description from Applied Compute Posted by Applied Compute on Oct 28, 2025 ### The role As an applied research engineer, you’ll own customer engagements end-to-end: understanding their data, their workflows, and their problems, then building and deploying agents that deliver real value. For our largest customers, you'll train custom models tailored to their specific needs. For others, you'll take what you learn and bring it back to improve our general agents. ### What you'll do - Train and post-train models for enterprises, from environment design through deployment - Own engagements end-to-end, working directly with technical and business stakeholders - Navigate new customer architectures, data systems, and requirements quickly - Surface learnings from customers and contribute them back to our platform - Collaborate across research, product, and infrastructure to define architectures, evaluation frameworks, and best practices ### What we're looking for - Meaningful AI research experience, either in industry or academic work - Comfort diving into unfamiliar codebases and training models on real-world, messy data - Strong problem-solving skills, especially in ambiguous, fast-changing environments - Ability to work directly with customers: listening, empathizing, and understanding how their organizations operate - Desire to own problems end-to-end and deliver outcomes ### Strong candidates also have - Experience training or fine-tuning language models in production settings - Background building RL environments, evaluation frameworks, or agent systems - Previous experience as a founder or early engineer at a zero-to-one company - Technical creativity through side projects, open source contributions, or published work - Experience at companies with forward-deployed or customer-facing engineering cultures The U.S. base salary range for this full-time position is **$200,000–$320,000**. Total compensation for this role also includes meaningful equity in a fast-growing startup, along with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support you both personally and professionally. Base salary is determined by a range of factors including individual qualifications, experience, skills, interview performance, market data, and work location. The listed salary range is intended as a guideline and may be adjusted. ### Benefits & Logistics This role is based in San Francisco. We work from our office in the Mission. We offer: - Competitive compensation and equity - 100% employer-paid health insurance coverage for you and your family - Unlimited PTO - Paid parental leave - Daily lunches and dinners - Transportation and relocation support - 5% 401(k) match We sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the process with you. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. As set forth in Applied Compute’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law. [View posting at Applied Compute](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Applied%20Compute/cf3dba8d-d06a-48e1-8e91-2f11e0a463bd/application) ## About Applied Compute Builds 'specific intelligence' AI agents trained from scratch on each enterprise customer's own data, sold to companies like DoorDash, Mercor, and Cognition. Series A · 10–50 people ## Similar jobs [Prime Intellect](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/prime-intellect) ### [Applied Researcher - Forward-Deployed RL](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/0ed15e783d00992e) San Francisco, CA · New York, NY Remote 2w ago $150,000–$300,000 [SF Tensor](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/sf-tensor) ### [Member of Technical Staff, Post-Training & Applied Research](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/790e35ccae399fab) San Francisco, CA On-site 2mo ago $275,000–$315,000 [Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company (AIUC)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/artificial-intelligence-underwriting-company-aiuc) ### [Forward-Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/575779887c729d4d) San Francisco, CA On-site 2mo ago $200,000–$400,000 [Periodic Labs](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/periodic-labs) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer, Physics & Simulation](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f51097ef995e7154) Menlo Park, CA On-site 5mo ago $250,000–$350,000 [Fulcrum](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/fulcrum) ### [Forward Deployed AI Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/93c0e9cb9ecf62ba) San Francisco, CA On-site 2mo ago $140,000–$300,000 - [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior) - [Similar jobs in SF Bay Area](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?region=sf-bay-area) - [Similar jobs that build what the customer runs](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=builds-for-customers) Hiring at Applied Compute and want this page changed or removed? 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