Forward Deployed Engineer
About this role
The AI Enablement team within the Executive Office builds applied AI solutions, including agents and workflow automation, to transform internal operations at Crunchyroll. Operating as a Forward Deployed Engineer, you will embed directly with business units to map real-world workflows, identify high-value automation opportunities, and rapidly deliver production-grade AI systems. Rather than waiting on a centralized backlog, you will move across departments to connect large language models with existing enterprise tools, data, and systems while establishing necessary guardrails and evaluations.
This position suits pragmatic engineers who combine strong consultative problem-solving with hands-on technical execution. You will navigate ambiguity to translate vague business challenges into concrete architectural plans, balancing rapid prototyping with reliable production standards. If you enjoy sitting alongside users, understanding operational pain points, and measuring the direct business impact of your code, this role offers an opportunity to shape how technology supports the global anime community.
What you will do
- Embed deeply with internal business teams to map actual workflows, identify operational bottlenecks, and determine where applied AI or automation creates meaningful value.
- Translate ambiguous business problems into clear technical architectures covering data flows, integrations, permissions, and build-versus-buy decisions.
- Design and build end-to-end AI systems including tool use, orchestration, prompt engineering, state management, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
- Engineer for real-world reliability by anticipating failure modes, hallucinations, security constraints, latency, and cost factors.
- Implement evaluations, tracing, logging, and monitoring to measure performance and business impact post-launch.
- Collaborate closely with technical and non-technical stakeholders across engineering, IT, security, and data insights to align expectations and surface risks.
- Build reusable components, patterns, and documentation to accelerate future AI development and facilitate smooth handoffs for long-term ownership.
What you need
- Six or more years of software engineering experience with significant recent work building and shipping applied AI or LLM-powered systems into production.
- Demonstrated background in designing AI solutions that interact with APIs, enterprise data sources, and external tools to execute multi-step tasks.
- Strong Python development skills alongside deep expertise in modern LLM application workflows such as RAG, function calling, orchestration, and structured outputs.
- Experience guiding technical projects from initial ambiguity through architecture, prototyping, deployment, and ongoing iteration.
- Proven ability to engineer AI systems for high reliability, incorporating guardrails, human controls, permissions, and cost management.
- Strong technical judgment to evaluate whether a problem requires an agent, RAG, classical machine learning, or standard software.
- Exceptional communication skills to work directly with non-technical stakeholders, translate business needs, and operate effectively in early-stage environments.
Nice to have
- Experience in a forward-deployed, embedded, solutions engineering, applied AI, or cross-functional engineering role
- Experience building tool-using or agentic systems that plan and execute multi-step workflows
- Experience with APIs, MCP, event-driven systems, enterprise SaaS integrations, and internal data systems
- Experience evaluating and observing LLM or agent systems using platforms such as Datadog, LangSmith, or Langfuse
- Familiarity with workflow analysis, process mapping, and AI governance processes including security and privacy
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
Where is the team located?
The position is based in Los Angeles, California, United States.
What is the salary range for this role?
The salary range for the Forward Deployed Engineer is $183,400 to $229,200 USD.
What kind of team will I be working in?
You will be part of the AI Enablement team within the Executive Office, embedding with various business teams across the company.
What technologies and methods will I use?
You will work with Python, modern LLM application development, RAG, tool and function calling, orchestration, model APIs, and various enterprise integrations.
The application is on the official Crunchyroll, LLC careers page.
Apply on company site