What are the responsibilities and job description for the Forward Deployed Engineer position at Artisan?
About Artisan
We're building AI employees. Not chatbots. Not copilots. Autonomous digital workers that do real jobs.
Our first, Ava, is an AI BDR used by hundreds of companies. She researches leads, writes and sends emails in a customer's voice, runs multi-step outbound sequences, manages her own deliverability infrastructure, self-optimizes over time, and handles objections and meeting booking. She's not a tool someone uses. She's a teammate.
We're a YC W24 company, have raised $35M from investors including Y Combinator, and are at $9M ARR. We just launched Ava 2.0, a step change in what an AI employee can do. The engineering problems are hard and the surface area is enormous.
Role overview
You'll be the bridge between Artisan and our most strategic customers - part engineer, part consultant, part trusted advisor. You'll work directly with sales, success, and product to ensure customers get maximum value from Ava.
Scoping how Ava fits into each customer's GTM stack: what we replace, what we integrate with, and what the ideal workflow looks like
Engineering customer-specific features and integrations across our TypeScript full-stack codebase
Managing end-to-end implementation, partnering closely with customer success managers to drive adoption
Traveling to customer offices for in-person discovery, scoping sessions, and onboarding
Joining sales calls to provide technical credibility and help close complex deals
Staying hands-on throughout the customer lifecycle - from pre-sales through expansion - ensuring customers see real, measurable ROI
Feeding customer insights back to product and engineering to shape our roadmap
Location: On-site in New York City or San Francisco (with frequent travel to customer sites)
Team: FDE
Reports to: Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, CEO (this is a new function at Artisan which Jaspar is directly overseeing)
Who you are
3 years as a forward-deployed/solutions engineer, field engineer, or full-stack engineer
Strong TypeScript experience across the stack (Node.js, React, or similar frameworks)
Comfortable leading technical conversations with RevOps leaders and sales teams
Ideally experience integrating with CRMs, marketing automation tools, and sales tech (Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, etc.)
You thrive in ambiguity - scoping problems, architecting solutions, and shipping them fast
Excellent communication skills: you can explain complex systems to non-technical stakeholders and dive deep with engineers
Willingness to travel frequently (up to 50%) to meet customers where they are
Interview process
Introductory chat with our recruiter
15-minute interview with Jaspar, our CEO
60-minute technical interview with our engineering team
30-minute culture and values interview with Jaspar, our CEO
Our culture and values
Founder mindset. Everyone acts like an owner: take initiative, think big, challenge ideas, and push for 10× outcomes
Obsessed with impact. We apply the 80/20 rule, kill sunk costs quickly, and focus on what actually moves the needle
Customer-first, always. Every decision is made with the customer experience at the center
High standards, every detail. Quality matters in everything we ship, from product and code to copy and design
Clear, direct communication. We value candor, fast responses, and feedback
- Winning team energy. We bring positive vibes, low ego, zero drama, and genuinely enjoy building together