Company Overview:

We are building Protege to solve the biggest unmet need in AI — getting access to the right training data. The process today is time intensive, incredibly expensive, and often ends in failure. The Protege platform facilitates the secure, efficient, and privacy-centric exchange of AI training data.

Solving AI’s data problem is a generational opportunity. We’re backed by world-class investors and already powering partnerships with some of the most ambitious teams in AI. The company that succeeds will be one of the largest in AI — and in tech.

We’re a lean, fast-moving, high-trust team of builders who are obsessed with velocity and impact. Our culture is built for people who thrive on ambiguity, own outcomes, and want to shape the future of data and AI.

Role Overview

We’re hiring a founding Forward Deployed Engineer to help build a new vertical from the ground up.

You’ll be the first FDE dedicated to this vertical, working directly with the GM to define the market, strategy, and early commercial motion. Your job is to turn early customer demand into durable technical capability: defining what the vertical needs, building reusable infrastructure on top of our existing platform, and establishing the technical patterns that future engagements and future hires can build on.

This is not a standard implementation role. It sits at the intersection of engineering, product judgment, and customer reality. You should be excited to work from first principles, operate in ambiguity, iterate quickly, and partner with product engineering to make strong calls about what should become a core platform capability versus what should remain vertical-specific.

What You'll Do

Build the Technical Foundation

• Partner with the GM and early customers to define what the vertical actually needs technically.

• Build the first MVP of reusable patterns, integrations, and tooling that future engagements will run on, leveraging our core platform where it fits and extending it where the vertical requires something new.

• Make architectural decisions about what belongs in the platform layer versus vertical-specific tooling.

• Create the initial technical playbook so future FDEs can build on a real foundation rather than starting from scratch.

Own First Deals End-to-End

• Lead the first customer engagements in the vertical, from technical scoping through delivery and post-launch support.

• Write robust code that solves immediate customer problems while compounding into reusable infrastructure.

• Navigate real-world complexity across customer data, integrations, workflows, and stakeholder dynamics.

• Translate messy customer requirements into systems that are durable and maintainable.

Shape What Becomes Product

• Partner with Product and Engineering to identify which patterns from early customer work should become core platform capabilities.

• Surface repeatable use cases, infrastructure gaps, and product opportunities from live engagements.

• Help determine when the vertical is ready to evolve from bespoke delivery into a repeatable product motion.

Partner Across the Company

• Work directly with the GM or Solutions Lead to define the vertical’s technical strategy and commercial approach.

• Partner with Data Lab on domain-specific data and research questions.

• Collaborate with other FDEs on shared patterns, tools, and approaches that should compound across verticals.

• Serve as the technical voice of the vertical as it grows.

What Success Looks Like

The shape of this role depends on the vertical you're deployed into, so we measure success based on trajectory rather than a fixed set of outputs. In the first 90 days, we expect the following to happen:

Build an understanding of the vertical and strategy

Develop a strong understanding of the vertical, the market dynamics, and the GM's strategy for building and scaling the business. Gain context on the customer landscape, commercial motion, and the unique technical requirements that will shape the vertical's success.

Understand customer and platform needs

Build a deep understanding of what customers and data partners need, what Protege's platform can already support, and where meaningful gaps exist. Develop a clear point of view on which constraints are temporary, which require new infrastructure, and which represent opportunities for future product investment.

Identify the highest-leverage technical bets

Evaluate the technical landscape and identify the most important investments that will unlock customer success, accelerate delivery, and create long-term leverage for the vertical. Prioritize decisions thoughtfully, balancing immediate customer needs against durable architecture.

Ship the first version of the vertical's infrastructure

Build the initial technical foundation for the vertical by leveraging the core platform where it fits and extending it where the vertical requires new capabilities. Deliver production-grade systems, integrations, workflows, and tooling that create a foundation future engagements can build upon.

Lead customer engagements end-to-end

Own early customer engagements from technical scoping through delivery and post-launch support. Use learnings from those engagements to continuously improve the underlying infrastructure, implementation patterns, and technical playbook.

Create reuse and drive productization

Successfully reuse the vertical's technical foundation across multiple customer engagements, demonstrating that the systems being built are durable rather than one-off solutions. Surface repeatable patterns, infrastructure gaps, and product opportunities, and partner with Product and Engineering to elevate proven capabilities into the core platform.

What You Bring

Must Haves

• 3+ years of engineering experience, including meaningful 0→1 work as a founding engineer, early technical lead, or builder in a highly ambiguous environment.

• Strong engineering generalist instincts with a backend and data orientation.

• Hands-on experience with Python and SQL.

• Comfort working across infrastructure, application logic, and data systems.

• Ability to create structure where none exists and move quickly without a fully defined roadmap.

• Strong technical judgment, especially around short-term delivery versus long-term architecture.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to work directly with senior technical and business stakeholders.

• Ability to independently run technical scoping conversations with customers and translate them into concrete execution plans.

Nice to Haves

• Prior founding engineer experience at a successful startup.

• Experience extending an existing platform into a new domain or use case.

• Track record of turning customer-specific work into reusable internal infrastructure or product capabilities.

• Familiarity with ML, NLP, or LLM-based systems.

Why This Role Is Special

This is a rare opportunity to define the technical foundation of a new business line inside a company that already has a real platform, real customers, and real momentum.

You won’t just be executing against a spec. You’ll help decide what the spec should be. If you enjoy building in ambiguity, working directly with customers, and creating systems that become the basis for an entire vertical, this role is for you.

Protege Values

Pass the Loved Ones’ Test
We act with integrity and do the right thing — especially when it’s hard and no one is watching.

Always Find a Way
We are resourceful, resilient builders who solve hard problems and push through obstacles.

Go Fast and Grow Fast
Velocity matters. We move with urgency, learn quickly, and continuously improve as individuals and as a company.

Practice Kindness and Candor
We communicate directly and respectfully, building trust through honest feedback and genuine care for one another.

Deliver Together
We win as one team. Collaboration, accountability, and shared ownership drive our success.

Own the Outcome. Hone the Craft.
We take pride in our work, sweat the details, and continuously raise the bar for excellence.