About the Role
This is a rare opportunity to join a fast-growing, early-stage AI startup — backed by Y Combinator — that is building agentic AI systems for the acquisitions and private equity space. As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you'll sit at the intersection of customers and product, translating complex, real-world business problems into autonomous software that actually ships. You'll report directly to the C-suite, own customer deployments end-to-end, and help shape the core platform alongside a lean, high-velocity team in New York.
This role is ideal for a scrappy builder with a business mind — someone equally comfortable talking to a CFO as they are writing a SQL pipeline. Prior exposure to private equity, M&A, or roll-up environments is a strong plus.
Note: US citizenship or valid work authorization is required. Visa sponsorship is not available.
What You'll Do
- Own customer deployments end-to-end — from scoping and business logic translation to data ingestion, pipeline delivery, and ongoing optimization — primarily with mid-market to large-cap operators.
- Build and extend an agentic AI platform in close collaboration with the core engineering team.
- Translate real-world operational complexity into scalable, autonomous software solutions.
- Join sales calls and identify customer expansion opportunities in support of go-to-market efforts.
- Work directly with non-technical stakeholders (executives, operators, business leaders) to surface requirements and turn them into technical specifications.
What We're Looking For
Required:
- 2+ years of experience in consulting, finance, data engineering, or analytics roles.
- Strong SQL proficiency — querying, transforming, and wrangling messy data.
- Demonstrated ownership of end-to-end data projects including ingestion, pipeline development, and production deployment.
- Python proficiency (or a clear track record of picking up languages quickly) for data engineering and AI integration tasks.
- Experience with ETL processes, data modeling, or data warehouse design.
- Ability to translate business requirements into technical specifications and data solutions.
- Excellent communication skills — comfortable working with executives and operators, not just engineers.
- US citizenship or existing work authorization (no sponsorship available).
Nice to Have:
- Hands-on experience building with LLM APIs, AI tools, or agentic workflows (personal projects count).
- Experience building internal data platforms, migration pipelines, or process automation systems.
- Domain knowledge in private equity, roll-ups, M&A, or multi-system enterprise environments.
- Proficiency with Excel for data analysis and business logic modeling.
You'll thrive here if you are:
- Scrappy, autonomous, and action-oriented — you ship first and iterate fast.
- Comfortable with ambiguity and unstructured problems.
- Energized by direct customer interaction and real-world business complexity.
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary: $110,000 – $150,000 USD annually, based on experience.
- Early-stage equity participation.
- High-ownership, high-impact role with direct access to company leadership.
Location
This is a full-time, on-site role based in New York, NY. Candidates must be willing to work in-office. Remote or hybrid arrangements are not available for this position.