Founding Forward Deployed Engineer
Clera· Remote·
About the Role
A fast-growing, Y Combinator–backed startup is building AI agents for the short-haul trucking and industrial logistics space — a massive market that still largely runs on spreadsheets and manual planning. With strong month-over-month revenue growth and a rapidly expanding US customer base, the team is hiring its first technical hire on the ground in the US: a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer who will own the full technical success of US customers from day one.
This is a high-impact, front-line role at the intersection of engineering, customer success, and product. You'll be the technical face of the company to US customers — embedded in their operations, solving real problems, and feeding critical insights back to the core product team.
What You'll Do
Own end-to-end technical deployments for US customers, from onboarding through to long-term success
Integrate the AI scheduling platform with customers' existing job management systems, GPS tools, and operational workflows
Act as the primary technical point of contact for US customers, diagnosing and resolving issues quickly
Work closely with the product and engineering teams to translate customer feedback and field learnings into product improvements
Build repeatable deployment playbooks, integration patterns, and technical documentation to scale the US go-to-market motion
Identify and surface expansion opportunities within existing accounts
Travel to customer sites as needed to support hands-on deployments and build strong relationships with operations and planning teams
What We're Looking For
Required
3–10+ years of experience in a forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, technical customer success, or similar customer-facing technical role
Strong software engineering fundamentals — comfortable reading, writing, and debugging code across a modern stack
Experience integrating SaaS products with third-party systems (APIs, webhooks, data pipelines, etc.)
Excellent communication skills — able to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical operations teams
Self-starter mentality with the ability to operate independently in an early-stage, fast-moving environment
Based in or willing to relocate to Austin, TX
Nice to Have
Background in logistics, fleet management, waste management, or industrial operations
Experience at an early-stage startup or as a first/founding hire in a technical go-to-market role
Familiarity with AI/ML-powered products or route optimization tools
Experience working with GPS telematics or job management platforms
Compensation & Benefits
Salary: $110,000 – $135,000 USD annually
Founding-team equity participation
High-ownership role with direct influence on product, culture, and US market strategy
Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.
Location
This is an on-site role based in Austin, TX. Some travel to customer sites across the US should be expected.