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Forward Deployed Engineer

120k – 250kUnited StatesML EngineeringRemote5+ YOE
Summary

Forward Deployed Engineer partners with customer engineering teams to design scalable architectures, build prototypes, debug production issues, and accelerate real-time voice AI app deployment on LiveKit platform. Requires 5+ years backend/infra experience and proficiency in Go, Python, or similar.

About the role

About This Role

LiveKit is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to work directly with customers building real-time communication and voice AI applications on the LiveKit platform.

This role sits at the intersection of engineering, architecture, and customer implementation. Forward Deployed Engineers partner closely with customers to design systems, prototype solutions, and solve complex technical challenges as teams move from experimentation to production.

Your mission: make it seamless for developers to build and scale real-time audio, video, and AI applications on LiveKit.

What You’ll Do

  • Work directly with customer engineering teams to design and implement real-time applications built on LiveKit.
  • Design scalable architectures for voice AI, real-time media, and developer platform use cases.
  • Build prototype integrations, reference implementations, and sample applications to accelerate customer development.
  • Help customers navigate SDKs, APIs, infrastructure, and deployment strategies for production systems.
  • Debug and troubleshoot complex technical issues in production environments.
  • Lead technical workshops and architecture sessions with developers and product teams.
  • Translate customer needs into technical insights that inform product and platform development.
  • Partner with Product and Engineering to improve developer experience, documentation, and tooling.
  • Contribute code, examples, or improvements to LiveKit’s open-source ecosystem when helpful.
  • Act as a trusted advisor helping customers successfully launch and scale applications on LiveKit.

Who You Are

  • Strong engineering background with 5+ years of experience in backend or infrastructure engineering.
  • Proficient in one or more programming languages such as Go, Python, Node, Rust, or C++.
  • Comfortable working across APIs, SDKs, distributed systems, and cloud infrastructure.
  • Experience building or integrating developer platforms or real-time systems.
  • Able to quickly understand complex systems and debug issues in real-world environments.
  • Strong communicator who can collaborate directly with customer engineering teams and internal product teams.
  • Comfortable operating in fast-paced, low-process environments where ownership and initiative matter.
  • Excited to work hands-on with customers solving complex technical implementation challenges.

Bonus Points

  • Experience with WebRTC, real-time media systems, or telephony/SIP infrastructure.
  • Familiarity with voice AI, conversational agents, or AI infrastructure.
  • Experience working in customer-facing engineering roles such as Solutions Engineer, Field Engineer, or Forward Deployed Engineer.
  • Experience contributing to open-source projects or developer ecosystems.
  • Previous experience building with or integrating LiveKit.
Skills
GoPythonNode.jsRustC++APIsSDKsDistributed SystemsCloud InfrastructureWebRTC
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