Forward Deployed Researcher

Applied Compute builds in-house, highly specialized agent workforces for the most advanced enterprises in the world.
Today’s state-of-the-art AI is no longer a one-size-fits-all model, but a tailored system that continuously learns from a company’s own processes, data, expertise and goals. The same way companies compete today by having the best human workforce, the companies building for the future will compete by having the best agent workforce supporting their human bosses. We call them Model Employees, and we are already building them today.

We are a small, talent-dense team of engineers, researchers, and operators who have built some of the most influential AI systems in the world, including reinforcement learning infrastructure at OpenAI and data foundations at Scale AI, with additional experience from Together, Two Sigma, and Watershed.

We’re backed by Benchmark, Sequoia, Lux, Greenoaks, Conviction, and Elad Gil. We work in-person in San Francisco.

The Role

As our first Forward Deployed Researcher, you’ll design, deliver, and scale production-grade AI agents that sit at the core of customer operations. These agents are not prototypes—they are high-performance, reliable, and intuitive systems running in production across industries like finance, healthcare, and commerce.

You will own the full Agent Development Life Cycle, from pilot through deployment and continuous iteration, defining best practices as you go. You’ll partner directly with leaders at some of the world’s largest enterprises as well as cutting-edge startups, embedding AI agents into their workflows to transform how they operate at scale. In parallel, your direct work with customers will shape the evolution of our core platform, surfacing unmet needs, prototyping new features, and collaborating with research and product to push the boundaries of adaptive intelligence.

This role is perfect for a builder with strong research and engineering instincts, high agency, and a passion for shipping systems that matter in the real world.

What You’ll Do

• Build and ship production-grade AI agents that are central, mission-critical, and revenue-driving for customers

• Own the full Agent Development Life Cycle, from initial pilots through deployment and iteration in live environments

• Partner with enterprise leaders and startup founders to understand their hardest problems and embed AI agents across their workflows

• Shape the evolution of our platform through direct customer engagements, surfacing unmet needs and prototyping new tools and features
  

• Collaborate with product, platform, and research teams to define architectures, eval frameworks, and generative agent development practices

What We’re Looking For

Technical expertise

• Experience building and scaling end-to-end production systems

• Strong technical problem-solving skills, especially in fast-changing, ambiguous environments

• Comfort balancing speed of iteration with rigor, reliability, and craft

Research & product intuition

• Builder’s mindset with high agency—you find creative ways to overcome obstacles and ship

• Ability to translate technical capabilities into compelling, intuitive products

• Comfort working directly with customers and solving real-world problems in production environments

Strong Candidates May Also Have

• Experience building or deploying AI/LLM-powered systems in production

• Familiarity with eval frameworks, agent tooling, RAG pipelines, and prompt engineering

• Previous experience as a founder or early engineer in a zero-to-one environment

• Strong frontend/backend skills (React, TypeScript, Go, or similar)

• Demonstrated technical creativity through published projects, OSS contributions, or side projects

Logistics

Location: This role is based in San Francisco, California.
Benefits: Applied Compute offers generous health benefits, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, lunches and dinners at the office, and relocation support as needed. We work in-person at a beautiful office in San Francisco’s Design District.
Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas. While we can’t guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you’re the right fit, we’re committed to working through the visa process with you.
Compensation: Depending on background, skills, and experience, the expected annual salary range for this position is $200,000–$250,000 USD.

We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification.
As set forth in Applied Compute’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.