At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and ship high-quality code, solve complex problems, and collaborate with clients' engineering teams.
- Company: Join Encord, a leading AI data platform trusted by top companies.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity, 25 days leave, and a vibrant office culture.
- Other info: Enjoy team lunches, monthly socials, and opportunities for travel across the UK and Europe.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in AI while working autonomously in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: 3-8 years in software engineering, experience with data integrations, and strong communication skills.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
About us
Encord is the universal data layer for AI that helps 300+ AI teams train and run models on the right data. Our platform indexes, curates, annotates, and evaluates data across the full AI lifecycle, from development through production. Trusted by Woven by Toyota, AXA, UiPath, Zipline, and more. We're an ambitious team of 100+ working at the frontier of AI and have raised $60M in Series C funding from Wellington Management, CRV, Next47 and Y Combinator.
The role
We're looking for an exceptional Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our product engineering team. This is an engineering-first role: FDEs are the technical owners who take the Encord platform into our most strategic and advanced customer environments, working directly with clients' engineering teams to identify problems and design, build, and ship the solutions that solve them. As an early member of the Forward Deployed team, you'll have an outsized impact on shaping a critical function for Encord and our customers, in a role that combines hands‑on engineering with direct client ownership. You’ll do tough system design calls under real customer load, and customers will trust you to get their hardest integration and workflow problems actually solved. You’ll operate autonomously, defining your own path to a solution, managing client relationships directly, and feeding what you learn straight back into the product roadmap.
What you'll do
- Design and ship high-quality, production-grade code that integrates Encord into customers' most complex data and ML pipelines
- Own system design decisions for customer deployments, balancing correctness, scalability, and speed
- Work directly with clients' engineering teams to diagnose problems, scope solutions, and ship fixes end-to-end
- Build data integrations and technical solutions that support customer onboarding, adoption, and scale at pace
- Communicate technical plans and tradeoffs clearly to both engineering counterparts and non-technical stakeholders
- Operate with a high degree of autonomy: identify the right problem to solve, decide how to solve it, and see it through with minimal oversight
- Collaborate with product and engineering to feed customer insights back into the roadmap
- Help define and scale the Forward Deployed function as an early team member
Who we're looking for
- 3–8 years in a software engineering role
- Experience building or working with data integrations and APIs; Python is a big plus
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to thrive in ambiguity and take ownership without being told what to do
- Prior experience at a high-growth startup is a plus
Why Encord
- Competitive salary, commission, and meaningful equity in a high-growth startup
- Strong in-person culture – most of the team works from our London office 4+ days/week
- 25 days annual leave + UK public holidays
- Annual learning & development budget
- Travel for customer visits, events, and conferences across the UK and Europe
- Company lunches twice a week
- Monthly socials & bi-annual team offsites
Forward Deployed Engineer employer: The Consensus
At ClickHouse, we pride ourselves on being an excellent employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture. Our remote-friendly environment in the United Kingdom allows for flexibility while providing ample opportunities for professional growth and development in the field of cloud infrastructure. Join us to be part of a team that values reliability, encourages continuous learning, and offers a supportive atmosphere where your contributions truly matter.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Forward Deployed Engineer
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at The Consensus or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to The Consensus.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like The Consensus.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like The Consensus that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Forward Deployed Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at The Consensus.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at The Consensus and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at The Consensus
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If The Consensus uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
