Modal · 4 months ago
Forward Deployed Engineer - Systems
San Francisco
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$180K/yr - $240K/yr
5+ years expModal provides the infrastructure foundation for AI teams, and they are seeking an experienced Forward Deployed Engineer to partner with their sales team. The role involves driving technical sales success by working directly with enterprise customers to understand their infrastructure needs and demonstrating how Modal can transform their AI/ML operations.
AI InfrastructureCloud Data ServicesInformation TechnologySoftwareWeb Development
Responsibilities
Partner with Account Executives to identify, qualify, and close strategic enterprise opportunities
Lead technical discovery sessions with prospective customers to understand their current infrastructure, pain points, and requirements
Design and present compelling technical solutions that demonstrate how Modal addresses customer needs
Architect migration paths from existing cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure) to Modal's serverless platform
Conduct technical demos, experiments, and proof-of-concepts that showcase Modal's capabilities
Navigate complex technical evaluations and address security, compliance, and integration concerns
Build trusted advisor relationships with technical decision-makers including CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and ML Engineering leads
Collaborate with product and engineering teams to communicate customer feedback and influence product roadmap
Support contract negotiations by providing technical expertise on implementation timelines, resource requirements, and success metrics
Qualification
Required
5+ years of experience in solutions engineering, sales engineering, or customer-facing technical roles
Deep hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) including compute, storage, networking, and managed services
Strong knowledge of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes, container orchestration)
Experience with databases (SQL/NoSQL), data pipelines, and distributed systems architecture
Understanding of ML/AI infrastructure challenges including model training, inference, and MLOps workflows
Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation) and CI/CD pipelines
Proven track record of supporting enterprise software sales cycles ($100K+ ACV)
Exceptional presentation and communication skills with ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and business audiences
Strong business acumen with understanding of enterprise buying processes and procurement
Experience building migration strategies and implementation roadmaps for large-scale infrastructure changes
Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams including sales, product, and engineering
Willingness to travel up to 30% for customer meetings and industry events
Based in or willing to relocate to New York, Stockholm, or San Francisco
Preferred
Experience selling or implementing serverless computing, container platforms, or ML infrastructure solutions
Company
Modal
Deploy generative AI models, large-scale batch jobs, job queues, and more on Modal's platform.
11-50 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Modal has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (3)
2024 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$110.5MKey Investors
Lux CapitalRedpointAmplify Partners
2025-09-29Series B· $87M
2024-08-20Series A
2023-10-10Series A· $16.5M
Leadership Team
Luis Capelo
Member of Technical Staff
Recent News
2025-10-30
Crunchbase News
2025-10-15
Company data provided by crunchbase