Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Encore AI builds the production-grade AI backbone for top-tier enterprises. We don't just wrap LLMs. Our platform autonomously handles mission-critical workflows, replacing operational friction with seamless, predictive experiences. We are a lean, engineering-driven company working directly with the biggest players in the market.

An FDE at Encore AI is a customer-embedded engineer who owns the technical success of an AI deployment end to end. You don't advise and hand implementation to someone else. You are the implementation owner. You take an ambiguous business problem, break it into solvable technical components, build the solution on our platform, and stay with it until it works reliably in production.

Location: Australia

What You'll Do

• Own deployments end-to-end. From signed deal to production go-live and stabilization. No hand-offs.
• Build production AI agents. Design and ship agent flows on our platform: prompt engineering, orchestration, edge cases, and the testing discipline that makes them production-grade.
• Integrate into brownfield reality. Legacy systems, APIs, CRMs, telephony and customer infrastructure, while navigating security, compliance and incomplete requirements.
• Debug in environments you don't control. When production misbehaves inside the customer's stack, you find it and fix it.
• Be embedded with customers. Expect frequent travel to client sites across Australia during active deployments, including interstate and occasional overnight travel - often as the most senior technical person in the room.

Requirements

• Strong software engineering and systems integration fundamentals (Python / Node.js, APIs, data).
• Hands-on experience with LLMs and AI systems (RAG, vector databases, evaluation/fine-tuning), plus cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, or Azure), and comfort using AI tools to move fast yourself.
• Proven ability to solve complex problems in legacy or enterprise environments.
• Product judgment, structured problem decomposition, and sound judgment under ambiguity.
• Clear communication with both engineers and business leaders. Fluent, confident English is essential.
• Current, unrestricted right to work in Australia required. Encore AI is not currently sponsoring visas for this role.
• Genuine energy for customer-facing work and measurable business impact.

What Success Looks Like

The deployment reaches production, withstands real-world constraints, and delivers the intended customer outcome. Not a successful demo. Live, stable, and delivering value.

Why Join Us?

• Your work goes live. Production systems serving customers of the biggest enterprises in the market.
• Compensation that follows impact. Base salary plus 12% superannuation, travel-day loading, and go-live milestone bonuses. Target total package: $200K AUD
• Direct line to the platform. You work with R&D, not around it. What you learn in the field shapes the product.
• High bar, high trust. We hire few, trust deeply, and expect excellence.

Encore AI is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and experience levels, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, gender, age, disability, or other protected characteristics.

Ready for the challenge?