What does a Forward Deployed Engineer do at CLERA?

Forward Deployed Engineers at CLERA are embedded directly with enterprise customers to implement and customize the platform, build integrations, and solve technical problems in real-world client environments. They combine software engineering skills with direct customer interaction, writing production code while also serving as the primary technical point of contact.

What skills are required for this Forward Deployed Engineer role?

The Forward Deployed Engineer role at CLERA typically requires strong software engineering skills (Python, TypeScript, SQL), experience with APIs and system integration, comfort with cloud platforms, and the ability to communicate complex technical topics to non-technical stakeholders. Most FDE roles require 3-7 years of engineering experience.

Is this Forward Deployed Engineer position at CLERA remote?

Remote availability varies by CLERA FDE role. Some positions are fully remote, others require travel to customer sites, and some are hybrid. Check the full job description above for the specific location requirements for this posting.

CLERA

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA, US Mid Posted June 04, 2026

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Role Description

About the Role

One of our first engineers. Own core systems alongside the founders. We are an agentic integration platform for the real economy. Specialized AI agents gather requirements in plain English, generate integration code, test it, deploy it, and keep it alive in production. You will own core systems end-to-end: agent platform, infrastructure, and the integrations runtime.

These are not chatbots or thin wrappers on an LLM. The agents do actual work with actual consequences in production: agent orchestration across specialized agents, a mini deployment platform for integration runtime with durable execution, self-healing systems, and a knowledge base that gets smarter with every integration.

What You'll Do

Own core systems end-to-end. Agent platform, infrastructure, and the integrations runtime.
Set the engineering patterns. Everything every future hire builds on starts with you.
Work directly with the founders. Ship to production constantly and help shape the whole system.

What We're Looking For

You have shipped real things end-to-end, multiple times. Owned them, not just contributed.
You code with AI agents and lean into it, but have the taste not to ship poor quality work.
Strong technical opinions, held loosely. You change your mind when the evidence says so.
You want a true early-stage, in-person experience: fast-paced, high intensity.

Compensation & Details

Top-quartile pay
Founding equity
Top-tier office environment
Equipment for maximum productivity including latest MacBook Pro and more
Full health coverage, 401(k) match

Location

San Francisco, CA, United States (in-person)

About Forward Deployed Engineering

Forward Deployed Engineers are embedded directly with customers to build custom solutions, integrate products into existing infrastructure, and bridge the gap between product engineering and customer success. The role combines deep technical skills with the ability to operate in client environments and translate business requirements into working software.

Originally pioneered by Palantir, the FDE model has spread across AI, enterprise SaaS, and cloud infrastructure companies. FDEs write production code, architect integrations, train customer teams, and feed product insights back to the core engineering organization. At companies like OpenAI, Salesforce, and Databricks, FDE teams are treated as elite engineering units that can ship custom solutions in days rather than quarters.

Typical FDE stack: Python, TypeScript, SQL, REST/GraphQL APIs, cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure), and increasingly LLM APIs and AI orchestration frameworks. Strong communication and the ability to context-switch between technical and business conversations are as important as coding ability.