Lead Forward Deployed Engineer

Posted Sep 23, 2026 by Cosmic Robotics · open on Ashby as of Nov 8, 2026

Pay not postedSan Francisco, CAOn-siteFull-time

Lead the customer-facing deployment function for Cosmic-1, owning robot deployments from setup and commissioning through field validation, maintenance, and long-term performance.

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At a glance

Posted base pay

Not posted

Median $190K

Senior FDE postings1,864 postings · middle 50% of posted pay$160K–$220K

The work

Leads the deployment team

Balance Mostly building

Project stages

Pre-sales (not covered)
Proof of concept (not covered)
Implementation
Operations

Travel Required, amount not stated

Coding: Writes production code
Builds for: External customers
Level: Senior
Role: People manager

What they ask for

Experience

3+ yearsprofessional engineering experience at an organization with a strong forward deployed engineering culture
5+ yearsprofessional engineering experience in a technical field rolePreferred

Background

Software engineering
Forward deployed engineering

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Conditions

Location: San Francisco, CA
Work arrangement: On-site
Employment type: Full-time
Travel: Travel required, amount not stated

The job description from Cosmic Robotics

Posted by Cosmic Robotics on Sep 23, 2026

Lead Forward Deployed Engineer

Location: San Francisco, CA (full time, in-person)

Company Overview

Our mission is to accelerate the construction of critical infrastructure on Earth while pioneering technologies to enable humanity to build beyond. Starting with Cosmic-1 – a system that installs solar panels 10x faster than today’s methods, helping us transition to a clean energy future and laying the groundwork for the future of autonomous construction.

The Role

As a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer, you will build and lead the team that bridges our cutting-edge robotics and our customers, owning the end-to-end deployment and long-term success of robots in the field. You will work hand-in-hand with our customers to develop, deploy, and ensure the optimal performance of the best construction robots in the world. This role is crucial for extending our platform with new features based on direct customer feedback and driving its adoption. As a core member of the team, you will help define the era of autonomous construction.

This is a rare opportunity to:

Work on hard, meaningful problems that impact the future of infrastructure and energy.
Collaborate with a world-class team from NASA, SpaceX, Google, Amazon, Zoox, Tesla, Nuro, Built Robotics, and others.
Rapidly grow, learn, and lead within a quickly scaling company.

Responsibilities

Own the full robot deployment lifecycle at customer sites, from initial setup and commissioning to field validation and long-term maintenance.
Work directly with customers as a technical partner, translating their operational needs into requirements for new robot and platform features.
Develop, integrate, and deploy new features to meet specific customer requirements.
Triage and debug issues in the field and ensure high robot uptime.
Set milestones, plan roadmaps, and deliver on ambitious timelines for customer deployments and feature delivery.
Balance tasks as an individual contributor while also managing and mentoring other forward deployed engineers and staff.

Requirements

3+ years of professional engineering experience at an organization with a strong forward deployed engineering culture.
Experience with forward deployment, field engineering, or technical consulting in a robotics field.
Management and recruiting experience.
Willingness to regularly travel to customer jobsites.
Experience debugging and developing hardware, software (Python, C++), or mechatronics products.
Demonstrated experience owning the full product lifecycle from customer requirements collection to field deployment.
Excellent communication and project management skills.
Thrive in fast-paced dynamic environments and push boundaries to meet deadlines.