Latest AI JobsBrowse Jobs
DigitalOcean logo

Forward Deployed Applied Scientist I (Agentic AI)

DigitalOceanSeattleAgentic AI
Apply on company site
Salary
$139,200.00 - $174K.00
Job type
Full-time
Experience
Mid · 4+ yrs
Posted
6 Oct 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

The Forward Deployed Applied Scientist I (Agentic AI) position is based in Seattle at DigitalOcean and involves building custom autonomous agent architectures for enterprise partners. This hybrid role suits professionals with extensive applied artificial intelligence and machine learning background who enjoy direct customer collaboration.

Role Overview

The Forward Deployed Engineering team operates at the intersection of AI research, production deployment, and customer impact. The professional in this role embeds with high-growth startups, tech innovators, and AI-native enterprise partners to design and deploy custom autonomous agent architectures running on the company's infrastructure. Travel of up to thirty percent is required for customer engagements, workshops, conferences, and internal collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

Design and implement multi-agent workflows, autonomous reasoning loops, and tool-augmented large language model architectures to resolve complex customer challenges.
Collaborate directly with technology innovators, chief technology officers, and engineering leads to turn business requirements into deterministic artificial intelligence workflows.
Prototype agentic frameworks using LangGraph, AutoGen, or custom execution graphs and prepare them for enterprise-scale production and persistent memory retention.
Create reusable evaluation frameworks and safety guardrails to monitor reasoning precision, execution security, latency, and cost-efficiency.
Provide strategic feedback to core product teams by converting field deployment observations into foundational platform enhancements.
Act as the initial user for platform capabilities such as inference engines, runtimes, orchestration systems, graphics processing unit platforms, and deployment workflows.

Requirements

Minimum of four years of practical experience in applied artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data science.
Demonstrated background in building multi-agent orchestration engines, tool-use or function-calling pipelines, structured outputs, dynamic planning, and persistent memory models.
Proficiency in production Python programming, including Pydantic, FastAPI, Asyncio, and PyTorch.
Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical trade-offs to engineering leads and executive sponsors.

Nice to Have

Doctor of Philosophy or Master degree in computer science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or a related field.
Experience with deep learning frameworks, distributed training tools, transformers, and state space models.
Research background involving publications, patents, or knowledge of current literature in large language models, vision-language models, and agentic frameworks.
Experience collaborating with clients or vendors on benchmarking, optimization, fine-tuning, or launch readiness initiatives.

Skills and Tools

Python
PyTorch
FastAPI
Pydantic
Asyncio
LangGraph
AutoGen
TensorFlow

Salary and Benefits

Base salary range between $139,200.00 and $174,000.00 per year, determined by market data, relevant experience, and skills.
Potential qualification for performance-based bonuses.
Equity compensation including initial grants and participation in the Employee Stock Purchase Program.
Career development resources including conference, training, and education reimbursement, alongside LinkedIn Learning access.
Well-being support including an Employee Assistance Program, local employee meetups, and a flexible time off policy.

About the Company

DigitalOcean provides scalable cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence platforms designed to simplify technology creation for builders worldwide. The organization operates as an equal-opportunity employer that does not discriminate based on protected characteristics.

How to Apply

Candidates should apply on the official company careers page.

Skills and tech stack

PythonPyTorchFastAPIPydanticAsyncioLangGraphAutoGenTensorFlowLLMTransformersDeep LearningMachine Learning

Questions candidates ask

What is the location and work arrangement for this position?

This position is based in Seattle, Washington, and is structured as a hybrid role.

How much travel is required for this role?

Travel up to thirty percent of the time is required for customer engagements, strategic workshops, conferences, and internal collaboration.

What is the salary range for the Forward Deployed Applied Scientist I role?

The base salary ranges from $139,200.00 to $174,000.00, with potential eligibility for performance bonuses and equity compensation.

What level of experience is required?

Candidates must have four or more years of hands-on experience in applied artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data science.

Is there a limit on how many positions an applicant can apply for?

Candidates may apply to a maximum of three positions within any 180-day period.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official DigitalOcean careers page.

Apply on company site