What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Forward Deployed Engineer position at viamrobotics?
Viam helps companies unlock the power of AI, data and automation in the physical world. We provide a single platform for engineers of all disciplines to solve problems together and build solutions that are fast and future-proof. Viam powers solutions across robotics, food and beverage, climate tech, marine, industrial manufacturing, and more. Founded in 2020 by former MongoDB co-founder and CTO Eliot Horowitz, Viam is headquartered in New York City.
Senior Forward Deployed Engineer
Location: NYC Headquarters (Hybrid), with occasional travel to customer sites
Viam is seeking a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer to serve as the technical point of contact for strategic customers. This role blends deep engineering expertise with post-sales execution, customer strategy, and consultative problem-solving. You’ll be a trusted advisor to named accounts; building relationships, guiding implementations, and ensuring long-term success on the Viam platform.
We’re looking for someone who thrives at the intersection of engineering, product thinking, and customer engagement; someone who’s excited to bring modern software practices to new industries, and who can turn ambiguity into traction.
What you’ll do:
- Act as the technical lead for select enterprise accounts; guiding implementation, onboarding, integration, and customer success
- Work closely with engineering teams at client companies to ensure adoption of Viam’s SDKs, APIs, and tools
- Partner with Sales, Product, and Engineering to identify new areas of value and expand our footprint within the customer organization
- Solve open-ended technical challenges in real-time, either hands-on or by finding the right internal resource
- Translate unclear customer needs into clear technical next steps; act as the connective tissue across stakeholders
- Communicate proactively, organize information clearly, and help reduce friction in cross-functional and customer conversations
- Represent the voice of the customer internally; sharing feedback, surfacing blockers, and advocating for roadmap priorities
About you:
- You’re a self-starter with strong software engineering fundamentals and excellent communication skills
- You’ve played a post-sales or customer-facing engineering role in the past (Solutions Engineering, Customer Engineering, Strategic Deployments, etc.)
- You enjoy solving real customer problems, not just building features
- You know how to prioritize in fast-moving situations, and can balance short-term needs with long-term goals
- You write and debug code comfortably (Python, Go, JavaScript, or similar)
- You’re organized and resourceful – you can keep track of multiple conversations, workstreams, and stakeholders
- You’ve supported enterprise customers and understand the dynamics of large accounts
Nice to have:
- Experience building hardware solutions
- Experience with systems integration, SDKs, distributed systems, or edge/cloud architectures
- Background in computer vision, ML tooling, or signal processing
- Familiarity with modern tools and workflows for devops, CI/CD, observability, or infrastructure
- Exposure to technical sales cycles or go-to-market collaboration
- Prior experience in a startup, consulting firm, or platform company
The estimated salary range for this role is $165,000 - $235,000/year
Viam’s base salary range for this role is posted above. Your exact offer will vary based on factors, including experience level, skillset, market location, and balancing internal equity relative to peers at the company. We recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced, or more senior, than this job description as posted. In these situations, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate. In addition to cash compensation, Viam offers a comprehensive Total Rewards package that includes equity grants, health benefits, and more.
- 100% covered medical/dental/vision insurance plans, commuter benefits
- 25 days paid vacation and generous holiday observances
- Free lunch every day that you’re in the office
- One Medical Membership
- Citi Bike memberships
- Monthly wellness stipend to be used for a variety of fitness-related items like gym memberships, fitness classes, fitness equipment, and more
- Paid parental leave
- Reproductive Health Benefits, including Fertility Benefits and Abortion Access Travel Benefits
- Vision Driven
- Collaborate Openly
- Act Decisively
- Succeed Through Diversity
- Hold Ourselves Accountable
- Lead with Curiosity
Salary : $165,000 - $235,000