Forward Deployed Engineer

About the Role

This is a forward deployed engineering role at an early-stage AI startup building purpose-built automation for the sea and air freight industry. You'll sit at the intersection of customer operations and product engineering, embedded directly with logistics teams to translate real workflow pain into production software. Execution is the constraint in this industry, and your work will directly shape how top-tier freight forwarders operate at scale.

What You'll Do

• Partner directly with logistics and operations teams to understand workflows and translate their needs into concrete system designs.

• Build fast, AI-powered tools across the full stack using Node.js and TypeScript.

• Integrate with enterprise ecosystems including ERP, TMS, SFTP, and event queues, and construct reliable data pipelines for messy, real-world data.

• Shape product direction and technical decisions alongside the founding engineering team.

• Travel regularly to key customer accounts across Europe and Asia to maintain close relationships.

• Own outcomes end to end, from design through deployment, writing clean, production-ready code throughout.

What We're Looking For

• 3 or more years building full-stack applications or backend systems in production environments.

• Strong proficiency in TypeScript and Node.js; React or a modern frontend framework is a plus.

• Proven experience designing and integrating with enterprise systems such as ERPs, TMSs, and external APIs.

• Hands-on experience building and maintaining backend infrastructure at scale.

• Proficiency with cloud infrastructure tooling, including Docker, Terraform, GCP, or AWS.

• Experience building data pipelines and handling unstructured or multi-source data.

• Familiarity with GenAI or LLM architectures (RAG, evals, orchestration) is a bonus.

• Comfort operating in early-stage, high-autonomy environments where you own your outcomes.

• Clear, collaborative communication with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Willingness to work hybrid from Berlin and travel regularly to customer sites across Europe and Asia.

• Background in logistics, supply chain, or operations is a plus but not required.

Location

Hybrid, based in Berlin, Germany. Regular travel to customer sites in Europe and Asia is expected as part of the role. Visa sponsorship is not available.