- Job title
- Forward-Deployed Engineer
- Job location
- New York, NY, US / Philadelphia, PA, US / Denver, CO, US / Remote (US)
- Job description
- **About Kilvin**
Kilvin is an AI-native software agency that builds custom internal tools for non-technical teams. We deliver everything through **our platform**: a shared workspace for our clients to access and interact with their software. We believe strongly in the principle of **personal software**: technology purpose-built for the individual, and that AI-enabled software generation provides the greatest opportunity to bring personal software to the masses.
Founded by [**Chris**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cschlaep/) and [**Jorrie**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorrie/) - MIT CS grads and former Googlers.
**The role**
Our clients are operators, not engineers. What makes Kilvin work well is the tight loop between understanding what a client actually needs and shipping software that does it - quickly. As a Forward-Deployed Engineer, you'll own that loop end to end.
You'll be the face of Kilvin for a portfolio of clients: running discovery, extracting real requirements from messy workflows, and translating them into working software through a rapid prototype → feedback → implement cycle. You'll build with our AI-assisted development pipeline, demo early and often, and stay with your clients after launch - owning ongoing managed services that keep their tools running and improving.
This is a hybrid role by design: part engineer, part consultant, part product manager.
**What you'll work on**
* **Client discovery & requirements** - sitting down with non-technical teams in industries like healthcare, finance, and operations, understanding how they actually work and what drives success, and turning "we need a tool for X" into a clear, buildable spec with measurable outcomes.
* **The prototype → feedback → implement loop** - shipping working prototypes within days, walking clients through them live, incorporating feedback, and iterating until the clients’ needs have been met.
* **Managed services delivery** - our AI-assisted development pipeline is what drives efficiency for our managed services - you’ll be expected to identify opportunities for improvement in that pipeline, then design and deliver solutions for them.
* **Owning client relationships** - being your clients' primary point of contact from kickoff through launch and beyond. You'll drive adoption, spot opportunities for new tools, and be the reason clients expand with us.
**What we're looking for**
* 3+ years building and shipping production software, ideally full-stack.
* Experience with client-facing work. You’ve worked directly with clients to identify product requirements and deliver them in end-to-end engagements.
* Excellent written and verbal communication. You can explain a technical tradeoff to an office manager and a schema decision to an engineer.
* Experience with (or strong enthusiasm for) AI-assisted development workflows. Our delivery speed depends on them.
* A bias toward shipping. You're energized by a fast build–test–iterate loop and real users, not by long specs.
**Nice to have**
* Experience in a client-facing engineering role: forward-deployed engineer, solutions engineer, consulting, or agency work.
* Background in regulated domains (healthcare, finance) and the compliance that comes with them.
* Experience at an early-stage startup or as an early/founding engineer.
**Our stack**
We care more about strong engineers who are comfortable with AI-assisted development workflows; if you've gone deep somewhere adjacent, we want to talk.
* We work in **TypeScript** end to end, maintaining a single monorepo spanning frontend, backend, and CLI tooling.
* Our frontend is **React**; the backend is **Node.js** services on **Express**, talking to **PostgreSQL** through **Prisma**.
* Auth and sessions run on a modern auth library, and the whole platform is deployed to **AWS**, with infrastructure managed as code in **Terraform**.
* Our build-and-deploy pipeline leans heavily on **modern LLM tooling** to turn requirements into working software.
**Logistics**
* **Location:** Remote within the US. We have a strong preference for candidates in or near **NYC, Denver, or Philadelphia** for periodic in-person collaboration.
* **Compensation:** Competitive salary plus meaningful early-stage equity. We offer health benefits through a QSEHRA: a tax-free monthly reimbursement toward your health insurance premiums and qualified medical expenses. We're happy to discuss specifics early in the process.
