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 Founding Forward Deployed Engineer role?

The Founding 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

Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

$110K - $135K Remote Mid Posted July 20, 2026

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Role Description

About the Role

A fast-growing, Y Combinator–backed startup is building AI agents for the short-haul trucking and industrial logistics space — a massive market that still largely runs on spreadsheets and manual planning. With strong month-over-month revenue growth and a rapidly expanding US customer base, the team is hiring its first technical hire on the ground in the US: a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer who will own the full technical success of US customers from day one.

This is a high-impact, front-line role at the intersection of engineering, customer success, and product. You'll be the technical face of the company to US customers — embedded in their operations, solving real problems, and feeding critical insights back to the core product team.

What You'll Do

Own end-to-end technical deployments for US customers, from onboarding through to long-term success
Integrate the AI scheduling platform with customers' existing job management systems, GPS tools, and operational workflows
Act as the primary technical point of contact for US customers, diagnosing and resolving issues quickly
Work closely with the product and engineering teams to translate customer feedback and field learnings into product improvements
Build repeatable deployment playbooks, integration patterns, and technical documentation to scale the US go-to-market motion
Identify and surface expansion opportunities within existing accounts
Travel to customer sites as needed to support hands-on deployments and build strong relationships with operations and planning teams

What We're Looking For

Required

3–10+ years of experience in a forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, technical customer success, or similar customer-facing technical role
Strong software engineering fundamentals — comfortable reading, writing, and debugging code across a modern stack
Experience integrating SaaS products with third-party systems (APIs, webhooks, data pipelines, etc.)
Excellent communication skills — able to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical operations teams
Self-starter mentality with the ability to operate independently in an early-stage, fast-moving environment
Based in or willing to relocate to Austin, TX

Nice to Have

Background in logistics, fleet management, waste management, or industrial operations
Experience at an early-stage startup or as a first/founding hire in a technical go-to-market role
Familiarity with AI/ML-powered products or route optimization tools
Experience working with GPS telematics or job management platforms

Compensation & Benefits

Salary: $110,000 – $135,000 USD annually
Founding-team equity participation
High-ownership role with direct influence on product, culture, and US market strategy

*Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.*

Location

This is an on-site role based in Austin, TX. Some travel to customer sites across the US should be expected.

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.