> 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.

# Deployment Strategist

Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/fd354a4590515217

David AI posts a FDE role to plan what the customer deploys first in San Francisco, CA, at $145,000–$200,000 base, below the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,864 postings with pay. Lead customer journeys from ideation to launch. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026.

- [David AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/david-ai)

Posted Oct 20, 2026 by David AI · open on Ashby as of Nov 8, 2026

**$145,000–$200,000** + equity San Francisco, CA On-site Full-time

Lead customer journeys from ideation to launch.

- [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2Ffd354a4590515217&placement=top)
- [View posting at David AI](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/david-ai/411e7a65-238a-4756-b427-a79d2e8f27b7/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

$145K–$200K Below the median

Midpoint $173K · median $190K

This job $145K to $200K. Senior FDE postings, 1,864 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K.

### The work

Plans what the customer deploys first

Balance **Mostly pre-sales or support**

Project stages

1. Pre-sales
2. Proof of concept (not covered)
3. Implementation
4. Operations (not covered)

- **Builds for**: External customers

- **Level**: Senior

- **Role**: Individual contributor

### What they ask for

Experience

- **4+ years** relevant experience

Visa

- **Sponsors visas**

### Do you meet what the posting states?

The posting asks for 4+ 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. 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**:

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## The job description from David AI

Posted by David AI on Oct 20, 2026

### About David AI

David AI is the first audio data research company. We bring an R&D approach to data–developing datasets with the same rigor AI labs bring to models. Our mission is to bring AI into the real world, and we believe audio is the gateway. Speech is versatile, accessible, and human—it fits naturally into everyday life. As audio AI advances and new use cases emerge, high-quality training data is the bottleneck. This is where David AI comes in.

David AI was founded in 2024 by a team of former Scale AI engineers and operators. In less than a year, we’ve brought on most FAANG companies and AI labs as customers. We recently raised a $50M Series B from Meritech, NVIDIA, Jack Altman (Alt Capital), Amplify Partners, First Round Capital and other Tier 1 investors.

Our team is sharp, humble, ambitious, and tight-knit. We’re looking for the best research, engineering, product, and operations minds to join us on our mission to push the frontier of audio AI.

### About our Forward Deployed team

Our Forward Deployed team works side-by-side with customers on their most critical initiatives, turning complexity into clarity and strategy into action. Embedded deeply within customer organizations and connected tightly to product, research, and engineering, we ensure that every engagement creates meaningful impact for customers and accelerates the evolution of David AI.

### About this role

David AI is hiring a **Deployment Strategist** to serve as a trusted partner to customers on their most critical audio AI initiatives, shaping strategy and guiding them on their approach to audio training. You’ll work closely with senior stakeholders to uncover opportunities, define priorities, and design solutions that enable David AI to deliver consistently high-quality outcomes to our customers.

### In this role, you will

- Lead our customer journeys end-to-end, from ideation to launch.
- Build and foster strong customer connections and consultative relationships across multiple business units and levels within customer organizations.
- Translate customer objectives and collaborate with our research and engineering teams to build actionable strategies that guide long-term success.
- Uncover new opportunities within accounts by identifying where David AI’s data and research insights can add value.
- Develop and execute strategic account plans that build stakeholder alignment, guide customers through their decision and review process, and advance opportunities with mutual close plans.

### Your background looks like

- 4-10+ years of relevant experience (e.g., deployment strategy, consulting, product or program management, founder, etc.), ideally at a fast-growing startup or technology company.
- Familiarity with the AI training lifecycle and have strong technical intuition for what makes high-quality training data for advanced AI systems.
- Skill in designing and executing building strategies to effectively capture, grow, and retain revenue.
- Demonstrated excellence in verbal and written communication.
- Proven project management expertise with high attention to detail and exceptional organizational ability.
- Deep experience building and managing cooperative relationships across technical teams and senior executives.
- Success thriving in dynamic, undefined situations, contributing to both the design and execution of solutions.

### Bonus points if you have

- A proven track record in B2B client-facing roles, including opportunity generation and closing complex solutions to technical customers.
- Education or professional experience with CS, Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, or other STEM fields.
- Proficiency in SQL, Python, or other data science-related programming languages.

### Benefits

- Unlimited PTO.
- Top-notch health, dental, and vision coverage with 100% coverage for most plans.
- FSA & HSA access.
- 401k access.
- Meals 2x daily through DoorDash + snacks and beverages available at the office.
- Unlimited company-sponsored Barry’s classes.

### Visas

We sponsor international candidates across a range of visa types, including H-1B transfers, H-1B1, O-1, E-3, and TN, and we support STEM OPT. While we can’t guarantee any individual outcome, we’ve successfully sponsored teammates from all over the world.

[View posting at David AI](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/david-ai/411e7a65-238a-4756-b427-a79d2e8f27b7/application)

## About David AI

Builds and licenses proprietary audio datasets and evaluations for speech, translation, synthesis, and conversational AI teams, with a research-led collection process.

Series B · 10–50 people

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- [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior)
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