Idler
Forward Deployed Engineer
About this role
idler is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to serve as a technical bridge between AI labs and the company, owning the full pipeline from understanding customer needs to building reusable infrastructure that converts real-world workflows into evaluation datasets and RL environments. You'll balance hands-on engineering, partnership management, and rapid product iteration while maintaining high standards for quality and precision.
What you'll do
- Own end-to-end product pipeline and shape roadmap based on customer demand and partnership opportunities
- Manage customer and partner lifecycles across both technical implementation and relationship building
- Build scalable systems and tooling rather than one-off solutions to streamline onboarding
- Work directly with AI lab researchers to understand model evaluation and training approaches
- Identify capability gaps and propose new features based on partner feedback
- Advocate for customer needs internally while representing company capabilities externally
What they're looking for
- Advanced proficiency in Python, TypeScript, or similar modern programming language
- Production systems design and debugging
- Systems-level thinking and architecture
- Customer relationship management and negotiation
- Technical communication with researchers and executives
- Rapid prototyping and iteration in ambiguous environments
- Project ownership and cross-functional collaboration
- Problem-solving with meticulous attention to detail
Benefits
- Competitive salary with meaningful equity
- In-office meals provided
- Healthcare, 401(k), and 15 days PTO annually
- Relocation assistance available
- Small, ambitious founding team environment
- High-impact work with leading AI labs
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Idler
Idler builds reinforcement learning environments designed to train AI models to code at expert levels. The company is hiring for full-stack engineers, backend developers, and QA specialists to develop the UI components, services, and workflows that power these agentic coding training systems.
View all jobs at IdlerLikely interview questions
- Tell us about a time you built a system that scaled beyond its original use case—how did you approach generalization?
- Describe your experience managing relationships with senior technical stakeholders or researchers; how did you ensure alignment?