Forward Deployed Engineer (Senior)

We’re hiring a Senior / Founding Forward Deployed Engineer to lead how Arist integrates into customer ecosystems and how those integrations power our AI-driven needs analysis and personalized learning experiences.

This role sits at the intersection of engineering, product, and customers. You’ll work directly with enterprise clients to deploy Arist in a way that feels native to their organization—while also shaping the technical foundations that make those deployments scalable and repeatable.

If you’ve been a principal or lead solutions engineer and are looking for a step up in scope, ownership, and impact, this role is designed for you.

What you’ll do

1. Own deep customer integrations

• Design and implement integrations with core customer systems, including:
  • HCM, LMS, CRM, and other source systems
  • Current integrations are largely orchestrated through Workato
• Ensure integrations are reliable, scalable, and easy for customers to adopt.
• Act as the technical owner of complex, high-impact deployments.

2. Build and productize our integration surface

• Expand, harden, and shape Arist’s API to support:
  • Template-based, repeatable integrations
  • Self-serve or partner-led integrations with minimal Arist involvement
• Define patterns, tooling, documentation, and best practices that make integrations faster and more predictable over time.
• Partner with product and core engineering to influence API and platform roadmap decisions.

3. Forward-deployed engineering for AI needs analysis

• Work directly with customers to deploy Arist’s AI needs analysis in real-world organizational contexts.

• Gather and map the right datasets so AI outputs are accurate, safe, and relevant.

• Define and apply guardrails that balance flexibility with trust and data integrity.

• Deliver experiences where customers say:

  “This feels native to our organization—and it just works.”

You will report directly to the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer

How the role evolves

Phase 1: Learn, execute, and streamline (0–6 months)

• Go hands-on with existing solutions engineering and integration work for a fast-growing customer base.
• Identify bottlenecks and standardize workflows through:
  • Reusable templates
  • Integration patterns
  • Tooling and documentation
• Help decide whether to:
  • Hire a tactical integration engineer, or
  • Shift more execution to core engineering
• Begin defining the FDE playbook for AI needs analysis:
  • Required data by customer type
  • Guardrails and safety considerations
  • Recommended integration approaches

Phase 2: Own the motion and build the team (6–18 months)

• Own the full solutions engineering / FDE motion from pre-sale through successful go-live for:
  • AI needs analysis deployments
  • Core Arist system integrations
• Serve as the technical face of complex enterprise deals.
• Build and lead a scalable solutions engineering / FDE team.
• Create tight feedback loops with product and engineering to turn customer insights into platform improvements.

Why this role is different

• This is not just an execution-heavy solutions engineering role.
• You’ll define the strategy for:
  • Integrations
  • AI deployment
  • Forward-deployed engineering as a function
• You’ll own cross-functional outcomes tied directly to:
  • Revenue
  • Retention
  • Product adoption
• You’ll be a founding leader of the Solutions / FDE function, with the mandate to build both the team and the operating model.

What we’re looking for

• Senior-level experience as a Solutions Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineer, or similar customer-facing technical role.
• Strong background in APIs, integrations, and data pipelines.
• Comfort working directly with customers on ambiguous, high-impact problems.
• Ability to think both tactically (shipping integrations) and strategically (building systems that scale).
• Experience collaborating closely with product, engineering, sales, and customer success.