Director of Forward Deployed Engineering

The shape of it

In the posting’s own words

We are looking for a Director of Forward Deployed Engineering to build and lead Vercel's Forward Deployed Engineering and Professional Services function. Forward Deployed Engineers embed directly with our most strategic customers to design, build, and ship production applications on Vercel using Next.js, AI SDK, and v0, taking projects from first prototype through production rollout. You will define how this function operates: the engagement model, the delivery methodology, the commercial structure, and the team itself.

What it asks for · 6

• 10+ years in software engineering, forward deployed engineering, or technical consulting roles, with at least 5 years leading customer-facing engineering or delivery teams in a high-growth environment.
• Experience building a team, function, or service line from zero, including hiring, methodology, and operating model.
• Strong background in modern web technologies (JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js, cloud infrastructure) with the ability to review code and whiteboard architectures credibly.
• Experience building or deploying LLM-powered applications and an understanding of how model behavior shapes product decisions.
• Commercial acumen: you have scoped, priced, and delivered technical engagements for enterprise customers and understand utilization, margin, and capacity tradeoffs.
• Demonstrated success embedding with customer engineering teams to deliver complex production systems.

Also a plus

• Have built with Vercel, Next.js, AI SDK, or v0.
• Have led forward deployed or embedded engineering teams at an AI-native or developer platform company.
• Have owned a professional services P&L or defined services pricing and packaging from scratch.
• Are comfortable representing the function externally at conferences, customer executive briefings, or large-scale events.

What the job covers

• Build, lead, and develop the Forward Deployed Engineering team, including hiring standards, training, career development, and compensation.
• Define the engagement model: how engagements are scoped, staffed, sequenced, and measured, and which accounts qualify for embedded support.
• Own delivery excellence for strategic customer engagements, from discovery and technical scoping through production deployment and stabilization.
• Establish the commercial model for professional services, including packaging, pricing, capacity planning, and resource allocation across competing customer priorities.
• Stay hands-on where it matters: architecture reviews, system design, and unblocking critical engagements alongside your team.
• Define clear handoff protocols between Forward Deployed Engineering, Sales Engineering, Customer Success, and partners.
• Codify field learnings into repeatable playbooks, reference architectures, and delivery patterns that scale beyond individual engagements.
• Synthesize customer insights into product feedback for Engineering and Product, and report delivery outcomes and customer impact to Field Engineering and executive leadership.

Tools and skills named

Words the posting leans on

• engineering12×
• customer9×
• engagements7×
• forward deployed7×
• delivery5×
• deployed engineering5×
• model5×
• function4×
• production4×
• architectures3×
• build3×
• commercial3×
• define3×
• product3×
• professional services3×
• technical3×

Counted from the posting after the mission statement and the legal notices are set aside. The ones near the top are the ones a screener is looking for.

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