Forward Deployed Engineer

Manifest OS
New York, NY
On-site

Who this role is best for

Geared toward candidates comfortable with building custom software solutions and engaging in customer-facing conversations, with a preference for those experienced in commercial engineering and AI technologies.

Best fit for

  • Individuals who have worked in technical customer-facing roles and can manage deal timelines effectively
    — “Experience in a technical customer-facing role (e.g., solutions engineering, forward-deployed engineering, technical consulting, implementation engineering, technical product/PM, or similar)”
  • Engineers who enjoy balancing product development with direct customer impact and thrive in sales-adjacent roles
    — “You want your engineering work to directly drive revenue and customer outcomes”

Things to consider

  • This role demands a high level of customer interaction and may not be suitable for those seeking core product engineering work with minimal external engagement
    — “You prefer deep, heads-down core product engineering over customer interaction”
  • The role requires a strong ability to scope and execute technical solutions quickly under tight deal timelines
    — “Ability to scope technical solutions quickly under deal timelines”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience in commercial engineering and successful customer solution delivery in your resume and interview responses
    — “Experience delivering production-grade customer solutions that require structured execution, testing/validation, and iteration”
  • Demonstrate your ability to present technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders in your interview examples
    — “Confident leading customer conversations, demos, and presentations”
  • Emphasize your experience in roles that require translating customer pain points into product specs
    — “Translate customer pain points into scoped, buildable product specs”
  • Showcase your ability to work closely with Sales and Account Management teams to close and expand deals
    — “Partner with Sales, CS, and Account Management to close and expand deals”
  • Include any experience with LLMs or AI agents, such as prompting, evaluation, or workflow design, in your application materials
    — “Experience building with or around LLMs / AI agents (prompting, evaluation, guardrails, tooling, workflow design, etc.)”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Build custom software solutions
  • Present solutions to customers
  • Scope and respond to RFPs
  • Translate customer pain points into product specs
Typical background
3+ years of software engineering experience

Skills & requirements

Required

Software EngineeringCustom Software SolutionsCustomer PresentationsRFP ResponsesCollaboration With Sales And Customer Success

Preferred

LLM / AI AgentsTechnical Customer-facing Roles

Stack & domain

Software EngineeringCustomer SolutionsRfpsLlms / AI AgentsPromptingEvaluationGuardrailsToolingWorkflow DesignCommunication SkillsCustomer-facing SkillsPresentation SkillsTechnical Stakeholder CommunicationScope Technical SolutionsAi-native Law FirmsLegal Services

About the role

Original posting from Manifest OS via Ashby

ABOUT MANIFEST

Manifest OS is the leading AI-native company on a mission to replace the billable hour and make legal services more accessible for American businesses and consumers. We power the next generation of AI-native law firms with one unified global brand, a proprietary technology platform, and a centralized back office — enabling lawyers to eliminate the administrative burden and focus on delivering exceptional outcomes for their clients. Manifest OS has raised a $60M Series A from Menlo Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, First Round, and Quiet Capital.

ABOUT THE ROLE

This role sits at the intersection of engineering and customer success — you'll build custom solutions for Manifest's largest customers and present them directly to stakeholders. You're the engineer in the room who can speak fluently about the product while also shipping it. Success is measured by expansions and renewals, not sprint velocity.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

  • Build custom software solutions tailored to individual enterprise customer needs
  • Present solutions directly to customers and prospects, including at conferences
  • Scope and respond to RFPs, owning the technical narrative end to end
  • Partner with Sales, CS, and Account Management to close and expand deals
  • Identify when to build custom versus accelerate a core product initiative
  • Translate customer pain points into scoped, buildable product specs

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

  • 3+ years of software engineering experience
  • Experience delivering production-grade customer solutions that require structured execution, testing/validation, and iteration
  • Confident leading customer conversations, demos, and presentations
  • Ability to communicate clearly with senior technical stakeholders, translate requirements into implementation plans, and drive delivery
  • Experience in a commercial or sales-adjacent engineering role
  • Ability to scope technical solutions quickly under deal timelines

EVEN BETTER IF...

  • Have relevant experience in a technical customer-facing role (e.g., solutions engineering, forward-deployed engineering, technical consulting, implementation engineering, technical product/PM, or similar).
  • Experience building with or around LLMs / AI agents (prompting, evaluation, guardrails, tooling, workflow design, etc.)

THIS IS FOR YOU IF....

You want your engineering work to directly drive revenue and customer outcomes. You thrive when presenting and explaining technical work to non-technical audiences. You enjoy switching between building, scoping, and customer-facing work.

THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF....

You prefer deep, heads-down core product engineering over customer interaction. You want clear separation between engineering and commercial responsibilities. Ambiguous, fast-moving deal cycles feel draining rather than energizing.

Source: Manifest OS careers (Ashby)

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