What does a Forward Deployed Engineer do at David Joseph & Company?

Forward Deployed Engineers at David Joseph & Company 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 CollectWise — Forward Deployed Engineer role?

The CollectWise — Forward Deployed Engineer role at David Joseph & Company 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 David Joseph & Company remote?

Remote availability varies by David Joseph & Company 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.

David Joseph & Company

CollectWise — Forward Deployed Engineer

$200K - $300K New York, NY, US Mid Posted March 31, 2026

Position filled. This role is no longer accepting applications. Browse current FDE openings below.

No longer accepting applications All FDE Jobs

Role Description

Forward Deployed Engineer — CollectWise (YC) ------------------------------------------------

Location: New York City, NY (In-person/Hybrid)

Base Salary: $200,000–$300,000

Equity: 0.25%–1%

Visa: Open to Canadian candidates requiring sponsorship

About CollectWise

CollectWise is a Y Combinator-backed AI company automating debt collection, a $35B market in the United States. Their AI agents outperform human collectors by 2X at a fraction of the cost. Team of three, scaled to $1M ARR within months, raised $4M at a $60M valuation, and reached $2M ARR in under a year. Goal: $10M ARR within the next year.

Role Overview

High-ownership, forward-deployed engineering role focused on delivering end-to-end customer implementations. You will operate at the intersection of engineering and operations, building integrations and deploying AI systems directly into production environments.

Core Responsibilities

Build and maintain custom integrations with client systems
Configure and deploy AI agents including prompts, workflows, and data pipelines
Develop backend systems to support client implementations
Translate customer requirements into clear technical specifications
Build internal tools to improve deployment speed and repeatability
Work directly with the founder and customers on implementation

Requirements

Strong full-stack engineering background in JavaScript or TypeScript
Experience shipping production products in startup environments or through meaningful independent projects
Strong communication skills and ability to work directly with customers
Ability to operate independently and execute quickly in ambiguous environments

Nice to Have

Experience with Node.js, React, AWS, SQL, and LLM-based systems
Background from a top university
Experience in investment banking or consulting transitioning into engineering

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.