Forward Deployed Engineer | Americas
Planhat
Los Angeles, CA · Posted June 15, 2026
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Where Los Angeles, CA ranks
Where Los Angeles, CA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #2Best cities for aerospace and defense jobs498 openings · of 67
- #2Best cities for media and entertainment jobs429 openings · of 17
- #2Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the West Coast428 jobs · of 47
- #3Best cities for legal jobs339 openings · of 36
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Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing does not state pay. Across 103 open forward deployed engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $160,000 to $215,000 and the median is $195,000.
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How AI is used in this kind of work
Among software developers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for software developers: 29% (some).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
Skills this job asks for
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About the job
COMPETENCIES
Planhat OS is a model-agnostic AI operating system where people and agents work together across the entire customer lifecycle. At its heart is Pi, the world’s first multiplayer customer agent. Think Salesforce, Slack and Claude all in one and Google Cloud has stated that Planhat has built the first next-generation CRM.
We’re 250+ people, profitable, and growing fast. The world’s biggest logos run on Planhat because Salesforce and ServiceNow can’t deliver fast enough.
More specifically, the people who do this well bring:
- 3–6 years of experience in consulting, data engineering, software engineering, or similar technical roles
- Comfort working directly with customers and operating in ambiguous environments
- Curiosity, ownership, and interest in building something new
- Willingness to travel to customer sites
- The ability to learn fast — this is the most important trait of all
Technical foundations:
- Strong foundation in SQL and data modeling
- Experience with Python and/or other scripting languages
- Experience integrating with APIs (REST / GraphQL)
- Strong foundation in agentic systems and experience with AI tools to accelerate delivery
- Familiarity with data pipelines, ETL/ELT, or workflow automation is a bonus but not required
TRAJECTORY
Forward Deployed Engineers are the heart of Planhat's AI Deployment Program. Joining Planhat as a Founding FDE at this moment is a unique professional accelerant:
- Work with companies that are early adopters of AI and want to build the future with us
- Gain experience in data engineering, systems design, AI deployment, workflow automation, and commercial operations — all at once
- Become fluent in applied AI: not model research, but the much harder, much rarer skill of deploying AI that actually works
- Develop technical intuition that is extremely rare in the market — the type that opens doors to engineering leadership, product architecture, or applied AI roles in any industry
- Shape a brand-new discipline. FDE is to this decade what full-stack engineering was to the previous one
As our Founding FDE, you'll embed with customers, understand how their business and systems actually work, and engineer the data pipelines, workflows, and automations that make AI useful and valuable.
DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
- You are continuously delivering AI-powered outcomes for customers that are measurable, scalable, and repeatable
- You are consistently seen as a trusted technical partner by customers, bridging the gap between messy real-world complexity and AI systems that actually work
- You are building the playbook for Forward Deployment Engineering at Planhat — shaping a discipline that is just beginning to emerge
- You are growing your technical intuition across data engineering, systems design, AI deployment, and commercial operations simultaneously
- You are helping companies transition into the AI era with clarity, speed, and real outcomes
COMPENSATION
The OTE (base + variable) salary range for this position is $170,000 - $250,000 per year. Please note that actual salaries will vary based on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. Please also note the range listed is just one component of the company’s total rewards package for exempt employees. Other rewards may include performance bonuses, long term incentives, a generous PTO policy, and other benefits.