[Hiring] Forward Deployed Engineer @Trail

Role Description

In this role, you will work directly with customers to design, build, and deploy AI-driven systems into live production environments. You will operate at the intersection of frontend, backend, and infrastructure, owning problems end-to-end — from initial requirements to production rollout. You will design AI-native interfaces and workflows, integrate LLM-powered systems, and build real-time applications that connect software to physical operations.

Qualifications

• 2+ years as a Forward Deployed Engineer, software engineer, ML engineer or equivalent — startup experience preferred; founder or founding engineer background is a plus.
• Experience building AI-native applications, including: chatbot/conversational interfaces, agentic workflows, RAG systems.
• Strong understanding of frontend system design, including: state management (local vs global vs server state), performance optimization, caching, and rendering patterns.
• Solid understanding of backend and infrastructure systems, including APIs, data flow, authentication/authorization, and secure data handling — with the ability to debug, design, and collaborate effectively across these layers.
• Hands-on experience building production LLM systems, including RAG pipelines, agent orchestration, embeddings/vector search, and prompt design — with a strong understanding of trade-offs (latency, cost, hallucinations, reliability).
• Ability to own problems and systems end-to-end, from first principles and problem definition through design, implementation, and production.
• Strong foundations in computer science and software engineering principles.
• Experience working in client-facing or high-ownership environments is a plus.

Location

Remote