Forward Deployed Software Engineer | Ai Engineer

Forward Deployed Software Engineer
Location: Sydney (Hybrid – 2 days in-office to start, then highly flexible)
Type: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: $160,000 - $170,000 + super + benefits

ScaleUp your Career | Forward Deployed Software Engineer

This is not a traditional dev role.

You're not here to just to develop work, hand it off and move on. Here, you’ll own the platform lifecycle: from inception, through rapid iteration, to deployment and live feedback.

You'll be the engine of modern change, working side-by-side with users to build software that actually matters for the business. 

Welcome to the role of Forward Deployed Software Engineer, a role that’s part product creator, part business partner, part startup-style coder.

The role is the intersection between SWE, Platform Engineer and Solution Architect. You will move fast and also embed yourself into the Engineering team outside of project work. 

The position is embedded with internal stakeholders: the managers and teams who rely on your code to drive their day-to-day.

What the role is about:

• You’ll collaborate directly with business users; understand their pain points, prototype solutions fast, and launch apps that go live in days, not months.
• You’ll operate with the velocity and autonomy of a startup, no slow-moving bureaucracy. If something isn’t written down clearly? You’ll clarify it, build it, ship it.
• You’ll bring your engineering muscle to real business outcomes, not just feature factories. This role sits at the intersection of code, architecture, stakeholder engagement, and product thinking — exactly what the modern “forward deployed engineer” is all about. 
• If you’ve ever wanted a role where you’re both creator and strategist, where you write the code and talk to the stakeholders, this one fits.

Here's what your day-to-day looks like: 

• Embed with internal user-groups and stakeholders: listen, learn, challenge, propose.
• Rapidly develop in TypeScript + Node.js, deploy on AWS, iterate fast.
• Build and manage AI-coded prototypes using platforms such as Replit, Codex, or Cursor, ensuring feature delivery aligns 
• Build meaningful architecture, not just temporary patches. That's maintainable & scalable.
• Engage directly with non-technical users, helping them extend or shape applications (vibe-coding style).
• Own the full cycle: ideation → build → deploy → feedback → refine. No layer of business analysts sitting between you and the end user.
• Adapt to change, embrace ambiguity, pivot fast — requirements will often be thin, you'll need initiative and independence.

To be considered for the role, you will: 

• You have startup experience (or similar fast-paced environment) and thrive when things are moving fast and loosely.
• You’re technically strong: comfortable in TypeScript, JavaScript, Node.js, AWS.
• You’ve done “vibe coding” — you’ve helped non-tech users build or customise apps, or you can speak their language.
• You’re a strong communicator: you can listen to business needs, ask the right questions, translate them into architecture, code, deployment.
• You’re not just a coder — you think about architecture, you think about user experience, deployment, feedback, iteration.
• Ideally, you’ve got exposure to insurance or financial services (a big plus) but it’s not a deal-breaker.
• You’re comfortable owning things: working independently, operating with less structure, creating structure where there is none.
• Experience with modern CI/CD pipelines, cloud-native patterns.
• Can communicate very well 

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• You’ll genuinely see the impact of your work — you will work on tools used by people in their day-to-day, influence how their job gets done.
• You’ll enjoy a hybrid-flexible workplace: start with two days in-office for ignition, then roam freely.
• $160,000 - $170,000 + super + benefits
• A business that is disrupting the insurance space (we had to make insurance sexy somehow - they are doing this with modern technology, innovation, flexibility and strong company values) 
• You’ll be part of a team that prizes ownership, speed, creativity, and real outcomes — not just ticking boxes.
• This is a role for someone who doesn’t want to just “write code” but wants to shape solutions, build strategy, influence business and tech.
• Your work here will build and shape a Forward-Developed Engineer style skills: technical depth + stakeholder trust + product intuition.

If you think this is you, reach out to Sam Or Tricia  at sam@scaleuprecruitment.com.au or Tricia@scaleuprecruitment.com.au