Forward Deployed Engineer

About Artisan We're building AI employees. Not chatbots. Not copilots. Autonomous digital workers that do real jobs. Our first, Ava, is an AI BDR used by hundreds of companies. She researches leads, writes and sends emails in a customer's voice, runs multi-step outbound sequences, manages her own deliverability infrastructure, self-optimizes over time, and handles objections and meeting booking. She's not a tool someone uses. She's a teammate. We're a YC W24 company, have raised $35M+ from investors including Y Combinator, and are at $9M+ ARR. We just launched Ava 2.0, a step change in what an AI employee can do. The engineering problems are hard and the surface area is enormous. Role overview You'll be the bridge between Artisan and our most strategic customers - part engineer, part consultant, part trusted advisor. You'll work directly with sales, success, and product to ensure customers get maximum value from Ava.

• Scoping how Ava fits into each customer's GTM stack: what we replace, what we integrate with, and what the ideal workflow looks like
• Engineering customer-specific features and integrations across our TypeScript full-stack codebase
• Managing end-to-end implementation, partnering closely with customer success managers to drive adoption
• Traveling to customer offices for in-person discovery, scoping sessions, and onboarding
• Joining sales calls to provide technical credibility and help close complex deals
• Staying hands-on throughout the customer lifecycle - from pre-sales through expansion - ensuring customers see real, measurable ROI
• Feeding customer insights back to product and engineering to shape our roadmap

Location: On-site in New York City or San Francisco (with frequent travel to customer sites) Team: Forward Deployed Implementation Reports to: Meghna Sharma, Forward Deployed Lead Who you are

• 3+ years as a forward-deployed/solutions engineer, field engineer, or full-stack engineer
• Strong TypeScript experience across the stack (Node.js, React, or similar frameworks)
• Comfortable leading technical conversations with RevOps leaders and sales teams
• Ideally experience integrating with CRMs, marketing automation tools, and sales tech (Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, etc.)
• You thrive in ambiguity - scoping problems, architecting solutions, and shipping them fast
• Excellent communication skills: you can explain complex systems to non-technical stakeholders and dive deep with engineers
• Willingness to travel frequently (up to 50%) to meet customers where they are

Interview process

• Introductory chat with our recruiter
• 15-minute interview with Meghna, our Forward Deployed Team Lead
• 60-minute technical interview with our engineering team
• 45-minute interview with Meghna, our Forward Deployed Team Lead
• 30-minute culture and values interview with Jaspar, our CEO

Our culture and values

• Founder mindset. Everyone acts like an owner: take initiative, think big, challenge ideas, and push for 10× outcomes
• Obsessed with impact. We apply the 80/20 rule, kill sunk costs quickly, and focus on what actually moves the needle
• Customer-first, always. Every decision is made with the customer experience at the center
• High standards, every detail. Quality matters in everything we ship, from product and code to copy and design
• Clear, direct communication. We value candor, fast responses, and feedback
• Winning team energy. We bring positive vibes, low ego, zero drama, and genuinely enjoy building together