Head Of Forward Deployment Engineer (FDE) (AI)

TL;DR

Head Of Forward Deployment Engineer (FDE) (AI): Lead and build a high-performance Forward Deployed Engineering organization delivering scalable enterprise AI deployments with an accent on technical excellence, architectural standards, and enterprise delivery. Focus on designing scalable operating models, driving productization from field insights, and managing executive-level customer relationships.

Location: Onsite in New York, USA

Salary: $240,000 - $330,000 USD OTE + Equity

Company

hirify.global is a fast-growing startup specializing in Generative AI and SaaS platforms for Conversational AI, with offices in Berlin, Munich, and New York.

What you will do

• Establish scalable delivery models and balance customization with productization for enterprise AI deployments.
• Build, coach, and develop leadership capacity within the Forward Deployed Engineering team.
• Ensure predictable, high-quality delivery with strong governance, risk management, and quality benchmarks.
• Define architectural guardrails and maintain technical credibility across cloud, backend, infrastructure, and AI system design.
• Translate field learnings into product strategy and partner with Product and Core Engineering teams.
• Serve as executive technical sponsor for key enterprise accounts and support pre-sales for strategic opportunities.

Requirements

• Must be located in or able to work onsite in New York, USA.
• 10+ years in customer-facing software engineering, systems integration, DevOps, or data engineering roles.
• 4+ years leading engineering delivery teams, including leaders-of-leaders.
• Proven experience building and scaling engineering or forward-deployed teams with strong organizational leadership.
• Deep expertise in backend engineering, cloud infrastructure, infrastructure-as-code, and AI system design.
• Strong executive presence and communication skills for stakeholder management.

Nice to have

• Experience with telephony architecture (PSTN, SIP) and AI/LLM-powered systems integration.
• Background in forward-deployed or solutions engineering environments.

Culture & Benefits

• Diverse team with 40+ nationalities and flat hierarchies.
• Immersive onboarding in Berlin and a beautiful NYC office with social areas and perks.
• Competitive compensation and equity package.
• Flexible working hours, unlimited PTO, and travel opportunities.
• Training and development budget for professional growth.
• Health insurance, wellness memberships, and regular social events.