What does a Forward Deployed Engineer do at SIM?

Forward Deployed Engineers at SIM 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 SIM 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 SIM remote?

Remote availability varies by SIM 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.

SIM

Forward Deployed Engineer

$190K - $250K San Francisco, CA, US Mid Posted September 23, 2026

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Role Description

Our mission is to automate knowledge work.

Sim is a platform to build autonomous AI agents for enterprise systems. Teams connect their integrations and Sim builds a knowledge graph of company data and processes; from there, they work with Sim to build and monitor the AI agents and workflows that run production systems.

Sim is talent-dense. We're looking for special people who are mission-driven, passionate, and creative.

We're a team of 10 working full-time, in person in San Francisco. We have a flat organization: you'll work directly with the founders and own your work from idea to execution. We sponsor visas.

About the Role

You'll work directly with customers to turn their workflows into agents that run in production. You'll own deployments end to end: developing a deep understanding of their problems, building integrations, shipping agents and evals, and engineering systems for continuous improvement. Your experience on the front lines will shape Sim's product direction: identifying recurring challenges, translating production feedback into platform capabilities, and informing what we build next.

You may be a fit if

You can build useful software, work through unfamiliar systems, and explain technical decisions clearly.
You enjoy working with customers and taking a project from the first conversation to production.

New graduates are welcome. We care about what you can do; projects, internships, and independent work count.

Compensation

$190K–$250K base plus a 0.25%–0.4% equity grant.

Applying

If there appears to be a fit, we'll reach out to schedule 1-2 short technicals. After, we'll schedule an onsite in our office, where you'll work on a small project, discuss ideas, and meet the team.

Equal Opportunity

Sim is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all team members. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Compensation Range: $190K - $250K

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.