Forward Deployed Engineer

Buildkite's CI platform is trusted by the world's leading engineering teams. Our largest customers run CI/CD at frontier scale. As one of Buildkite's first Forward Deployed Engineers, you'll take on scoped engagements with strategic customers from design through delivery. Customers pay for an outcome: you work out what they actually need, agree on a clear deliverable, build it as production code, and land it in the platform. The role sits in the Revenue org alongside Solutions Architects and Technical Account Managers, and is based on the US West Coast, with regular travel to customer sites (around 25%).

Responsibilities

Work through the customer's reality and scope engagements before the deal closes, partnering with Solution Architects and TAMs to identify true gaps; Spot patterns across customers and bring them to Product so recurring workarounds become roadmap items; Turn true gaps into defined engagements with a clear deliverable, estimate, and exit criteria signed off by the customer and Buildkite, and keep work within scope; Build core platform features as production code and hand off cleanly to Product and Engineering; Help Solutions Architects and Account Executives recognize FDE opportunities and explain the role in plain terms; Spend time on site with customer platform teams, stay accountable until delivered and handed off

Requirements

Shipped production software end to end in the last few years, code they owned and were accountable for; Able to pass the same technical bar as product engineers; Can translate a business need into a technical spec and back again; Stays composed when a customer's executive is frustrated; Comfortable with large, established enterprises, structured evaluations, security reviews, and leaders who want to understand the why; Can scope a vague ask into a defined, shippable deliverable and manage scope when new asks arise mid-engagement; Prioritizes solving the customer's problem over selling more or building something shiny; Has product judgment to distinguish one-off requests from needs every customer has; Wants to build and stay close to customers; Excited to help build a new function and run the first engagements; Willing to travel regularly to customer sites (around 25%)

Nice to have

Led or supported a migration from another CI/CD system; Early engineer at a developer tools, infrastructure, or B2B SaaS company, or experience in a forward deployed role; Worked inside or alongside the engineering org of a growth-oriented SaaS company or large enterprise; Already uses Buildkite

Benefits

20 days paid annual leave plus 10 days sick & carer's leave; Ongoing remote-work allowance; Retirement and health coverage (based on region); 16 weeks paid parental leave for primary carers (6 weeks for secondary); Confidential EAP and mental health support; Time and budget for conferences, courses, and coaching; Flexibility to work from anywhere in the world for up to 6 weeks a year; Base salary plus equity