Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

Viam is the engineering platform for robotics and automation, empowering developers, startups, and enterprises to build, deploy, and scale—from prototype to production. Our platform makes robotics development accessible to software engineers, removing traditional barriers to building production-grade automation. We're also pioneering surface finishing automation for marine manufacturing, with solutions for robotic sanding that automate critical processes in roles that are physically demanding, safety-critical, and hard to fill. We were 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 Full-time Benefits: 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 Yearly Learning and Development Budget Values: Vision Driven Collaborate Openly Act Decisively Succeed Through Diversity Hold Ourselves Accountable Lead with Curiosity To all recruitment agencies: Viam does not accept unsolicited agency resumes or calls from recruitment agencies or search firms. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or Viam employees. Viam is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.