Forward Deployed Engineer
Buildkite · United States - Pacific Time
About this role
**Forward Deployed Engineer — Buildkite** ## About Buildkite Buildkite’s CI platform is trusted by leading engineering teams worldwide, helping ship software used by more than **1 billion people every day**. Customers like **Canva, Meta, Mistral AI, and NVIDIA** rely on Buildkite to run builds, tests, and deployments on their infrastructure, ours, or both—delivering speed, reliability, and flexibility. ## About the Role As one of Buildkite’s first **Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs)**, you’ll take on **scoped engagements with strategic customers** from design through delivery. Customers pay for an outcome: you’ll identify what they truly need, agree on a clear deliverable, build it as production code, and land it in the platform. You’ll work hands-on with real customer access—spending time on-site with platform teams behind demanding CI workloads, staying accountable until what you built works, and shaping how the function operates by implementing early engagements (not just writing a playbook). **Location:** US West Coast **Travel:** ~25% to customer sites ## What You’ll Do - **Scope engagements before the deal closes:** Partner with Solutions Architects and TAMs to understand what stands between the customer and Buildkite, identify true gaps, and spot patterns to feed back into Product. - **Turn gaps into defined engagements:** Create a clear deliverable, estimate, and exit criteria that both the customer and Buildkite sign off on—then keep work within scope as new asks arise. - **Build core platform features:** Deliver production-quality work at the same bar as product engineers, then hand off cleanly to Product/Engineering so it becomes a supported part of Buildkite. - **Help the revenue team recognize opportunities:** Explain what FDE is (and isn’t) in plain terms and support deal conversations as the role evolves. ## This Is You If… - You’ve shipped **production software end to end** in the last few years (owned and accountable, not just contributed). - You can meet the **technical bar** expected of product engineers. - You can translate business needs into technical specs (and stay composed with frustrated executives). - You’re comfortable with **large enterprises** (structured evaluations, security reviews, and leaders who want the “why”). - You can **scope**: turn vague asks into something defined and shippable, and manage scope when new requests appear mid-engagement. - You’d rather solve the customer’s problem than sell more or build shiny features. - You have **product judgment** (one-off vs. broadly needed). - You want to **build and stay close to customers**—without giving either up. - You’re excited to build a new function and run the first engagements yourself. ## This Probably Isn’t You If… - You want mostly code with little customer time (or mostly customer time with little code). This role is both. - You prefer a well-defined roadmap over figuring out the problem and taking initiative. - You’re looking for hourly consulting, training, or migration work (those are different roles). - You’d rather not travel—time on-site is core to the job. ## Bonus Points If… - You’ve led or supported a migration from another CI/CD system. - You’ve been an early engineer in developer tools, infrastructure, or B2B SaaS—or worked in a forward deployed role. - You’ve worked inside (or alongside) engineering orgs at growth SaaS companies or large enterprises. - You already use Buildkite. ## Benefits - **20 days paid annual leave
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