Lead Forward Deployed Engineer

We're hiring: Lead Forward Deployed Engineer @ Firstshift AI

Supply chains are still run on spreadsheets, static reports, and planning tools built for a world that no longer moves this fast. We're changing that.

Firstshift is building the AI-native supply chain planning and decision intelligence platform — powered by our Supply Chain Canvas, a collaborative workspace where planners visualize their entire network, run scenarios, and act on optimization + generative AI recommendations in real time.

We're looking for a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own our most strategic customer deployments end to end — from messy real-world data to production-grade solutions live on the Supply Chain Canvas.

This is a rare role for someone who genuinely sits at the intersection of: Operations research & optimization (LP/MILP, heuristics, solvers) Data science & ML/forecasting (demand sensing, time series, production ML) Generative AI (LLM copilots, RAG, agentic workflows — built directly into the Supply Chain Canvas) Supply chain domain depth (demand planning, inventory, S&OP/IBP, network design)

What you'll do: • Lead technical delivery for our most strategic enterprise customers, from discovery to go-live • Build optimization + ML models and turn them into scenarios and recommendations inside the Supply Chain Canvas • Ship GenAI-powered features — natural-language querying, agentic workflows, automated root-cause narratives • Work directly with customer supply chain and IT leaders as a trusted technical advisor • Lead and mentor a small team of forward deployed engineers • Shape our product roadmap based on what you see in the field • Represent Firstshift as a technical voice in the AI x supply chain space

What we're looking for: • 7+ years across OR, data science, ML engineering, or supply chain analytics, with real customer-facing/FDE experience • Hands-on optimization skills (Gurobi/CPLEX/OR-Tools) and production ML/forecasting experience • Practical GenAI chops — building with LLMs, RAG, agentic workflows, prompt engineering • Deep supply chain domain knowledge and comfort integrating with ERP/planning systems (SAP, Oracle, Kinaxis, o9) • A track record of leading technical work and communicating it to executives • Excitement about doing all of the above at an early-stage, high-growth startup

If you've been waiting for a role where OR + ML + GenAI + supply chain actually come together — and where your work ships directly into customers' hands — let's talk.

Apply or DM me directly —

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