Forward Deployed Engineer, New Verticals (10)

Forward Deployed Engineer

We're hiring a founding Forward Deployed Engineer to help build a new vertical from the ground up. You'll be the first FDE dedicated to this vertical, working directly with the GM to define the market, strategy, and early commercial motion. Your job is to turn early customer demand into durable technical capability: defining what the vertical needs, building reusable infrastructure on top of our existing platform, and establishing the technical patterns that future engagements and future hires can build on.

This is not a standard implementation role. It sits at the intersection of engineering, product judgment, and customer reality. You should be excited to work from first principles, operate in ambiguity, iterate quickly, and partner with product engineering to make strong calls about what should become a core platform capability versus what should remain vertical-specific.

The shape of this role depends on the vertical you're deployed into, so we measure success based on trajectory rather than a fixed set of outputs. In the first 90 days, we expect the following to happen:

Build an understanding of the vertical and strategy

Develop a strong understanding of the vertical, the market dynamics, and the GM's strategy for building and scaling the business. Gain context on the customer landscape, commercial motion, and the unique technical requirements that will shape the vertical's success.

Understand customer and platform needs

Build a deep understanding of what customers and data partners need, what Protege's platform can already support, and where meaningful gaps exist. Develop a clear point of view on which constraints are temporary, which require new infrastructure, and which represent opportunities for future product investment.

Identify the highest-leverage technical bets

Evaluate the technical landscape and identify the most important investments that will unlock customer success, accelerate delivery, and create long-term leverage for the vertical. Prioritize decisions thoughtfully, balancing immediate customer needs against durable architecture.

Ship the first version of the vertical's infrastructure

Build the initial technical foundation for the vertical by leveraging the core platform where it fits and extending it where the vertical requires new capabilities. Deliver production-grade systems, integrations, workflows, and tooling that create a foundation future engagements can build upon.

Lead customer engagements end-to-end

Own early customer engagements from technical scoping through delivery and post-launch support. Use learnings from those engagements to continuously improve the underlying infrastructure, implementation patterns, and technical playbook.

Create reuse and drive productization

Successfully reuse the vertical's technical foundation across multiple customer engagements, demonstrating that the systems being built are durable rather than one-off solutions. Surface repeatable patterns, infrastructure gaps, and product opportunities, and partner with Product and Engineering to elevate proven capabilities into the core platform.

Must haves:

• 3+ years of engineering experience, including meaningful 0→1 work as a founding engineer, early technical lead, or builder in a highly ambiguous environment.
• Strong engineering generalist instincts with a backend and data orientation.
• Hands-on experience with Python and SQL.
• Comfort working across infrastructure, application logic, and data systems.
• Ability to create structure where none exists and move quickly without a fully defined roadmap.
• Strong technical judgment, especially around short-term delivery versus long-term architecture.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to work directly with senior technical and business stakeholders.
• Ability to independently run technical scoping conversations with customers and translate them into concrete execution plans.

Nice to haves:

• Prior founding engineer experience at a successful startup.
• Experience extending an existing platform into a new domain or use case.
• Track record of turning customer-specific work into reusable internal infrastructure or product capabilities.
• Familiarity with ML, NLP, or LLM-based systems.

This is a rare opportunity to define the technical foundation of a new business line inside a company that already has a real platform, real customers, and real momentum.

You won't just be executing against a spec. You'll help decide what the spec should be. If you enjoy building in ambiguity, working directly with customers, and creating systems that become the basis for an entire vertical, this role is for you.

Protege values:

Pass the Loved Ones' Test: We act with integrity and do the right thing — especially when it's hard and no one is watching.Always Find a Way: We are resourceful, resilient builders who solve hard problems and push through obstacles.Go Fast and Grow Fast: Velocity matters.We move with urgency, learn quickly, and continuously improve as individuals and as a company.Practice Kindness and Candor: We communicate directly and respectfully, building trust through honest feedback and genuine care for one another.Deliver Together: We win as one team.

Collaboration, accountability, and shared ownership drive our success.Own the Outcome.Hone the Craft.: We take pride in our work, sweat the details, and continuously raise the bar for excellence.