Forward Deployed Engineer

About the role

Sift is the data infrastructure platform purpose-built for hardware engineering teams that push the boundaries of what is physically possible. As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you will act as the critical link between our evolving platform and the complex, high-stakes environments where our customers operate. You will own the end-to-end journey of solving difficult technical challenges, from initial discovery through implementation and validation. This role requires you to be deeply hands-on, working directly with customer engineers to configure, adapt, and extend Sift's capabilities on their timelines. You will leverage your software expertise to build bespoke solutions that turn raw telemetry into actionable intelligence. Success in this position means you thrive in ambiguity and derive satisfaction from enabling mission-critical operations in aerospace and energy. You will be expected to not only support customers but also to feed your learnings directly into the product roadmap. Ultimately, you will be a trusted advisor who ensures that Sift becomes the central nervous system for our customers' most important machines.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Partner with customers to deeply understand their unique telemetry and system integration challenges.
• Design and implement custom data pipelines using Sift APIs to address specific customer requirements.
• Conduct detailed discovery sessions to translate ambiguous customer needs into precise technical specifications.
• Build reusable integrations that connect Sift with the broader ecosystem of engineering tools in the customer stack.
• Serve as the primary technical contact during onboarding, ensuring customer teams can effectively utilize the platform.
• Develop training content and run workshops to elevate the data literacy of cross-functional engineering teams.
• Diagnose performance bottlenecks and data quality issues within deployed Sift environments in the field.
• Collaborate closely with product managers to provide direct feedback based on real-world customer usage patterns.
• Maintain detailed technical documentation for configurations, workflows, and integration patterns.
• Represent the voice of the customer in internal engineering discussions to prioritize new features.
• Troubleshoot complex edge cases that arise in unique deployment configurations or extreme operational conditions.
• Establish long-term strategic relationships with key accounts to identify future platform needs.
• Adapt to rapidly changing priorities in a fast-paced startup environment where customer needs evolve daily.
• Ensure all technical solutions comply with the strict security and data handling standards of regulated industries.

Requirements

US Person Required: Must be a U.S. Citizen or Green Card Holder due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) compliance requirements.

• You possess a minimum of 2+ years of professional experience in software engineering or data engineering roles.
• You demonstrate a high level of proficiency in Python, including writing clean and maintainable code.
• You have a working familiarity with designing and consuming REST APIs in a production environment.
• You have a basic understanding of data analysis methodologies and visualization best practices.
• You bring strong problem-solving skills and an acute attention to detail to every task.
• You communicate effectively, capable of explaining complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• You have a deep passion for industries such as aerospace, autonomous systems, and renewable energy.
• You exhibit a keen eagerness to learn and rapidly adapt within a fast-paced startup environment.
• You hold a Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, engineering, math, physics, or a related STEM discipline.
• You are authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship due to regulatory compliance.
• You are located in or are willing to relocate to the Los Angeles area to facilitate close collaboration.
• You can reliably travel 10-15% of the time to meet customer needs across various locations.
• You are comfortable working within a hybrid schedule that requires in-person collaboration four days per week.

Nice to have

• You have direct experience working within aerospace systems, satellite operations, or autonomous vehicle development lifecycles.
• You have hands-on experience with data streaming technologies or time-series databases such as Kafka or InfluxDB.
• You understand core SQL concepts and have practical experience working with relational databases.
• You have deployed solutions on major cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• You have navigated software integration challenges within complex, distributed hardware systems.
• You have applied machine learning or AI techniques to solve real-world engineering problems.
• You have a proven track record of quickly mastering new technologies and frameworks under tight deadlines.

Practical notes

The work location is primarily based in Marina Del Rey, California, with a hybrid schedule requiring four days in the office. Travel requirements are estimated at 10-15% and will vary based on customer location and project scope. This role is designated as full-time employment and reports directly to the Forward Deployed Engineering Lead. Due to the sensitive nature of the industries served, only U.S. citizens or green card holders are eligible for this position.