--- title: 'Forward Deployed Engineer at Blank Metal' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-blank-metal-minneapolis-qcvn4b12fcdx' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-08' --- # Forward Deployed Engineer at Blank Metal - **Company:** Blank Metal - **Location:** Minneapolis, MN - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-07-29 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/blank-metal/7c5288c5-ab97-40d9-ae8e-27abbb6bea5f ## Job description DEPARTMENT Engineering LOCATION Minneapolis, MN (Hybrid) TYPE Full time ## REPORTS TO CTO ## THE ROLE Enterprises come to Blank Metal to get production AI live. That work is led by senior people who can sit across from a client's executives, diagnose the real problem, and then go build the thing that fixes it. As a Forward Deployed Engineer you'll turn advisory conversations into shipped software, closing the gap between a promising demo and a system that runs in production, where most enterprise AI initiatives stall. You embed with a client, earn trust at the executive level, and stay hands-on from the first scoping session through the live deployment. You are equal parts technical leader and trusted advisor: you shape what gets built, you build it with a lean team of AI engineers, and you own whether it actually works in production. The playbook for this practice is still being written, and you will write a lot of it: how we embed, how we prove value, and what we bring back from each engagement. Forward deployed means what it says. Expect roughly 25 to 40% travel to client sites, heavier during kickoffs and go-lives. The rest of the time you work wherever you work best. This is a senior, high-autonomy role with real ownership: you carry a small number of accounts deeply, and you are measured on outcomes clients can see. ## WHAT YOU GET TO DO Set the conditions - Partner with client executives to find the highest-value AI opportunity, then frame it in the client's own language - Lead scoping and proof of concept work that de-risks the build before a full engagement starts - Shape the technical approach and scope alongside our growth team; they own the close, you make sure what's promised is what can actually be built Build it for real - Deploy alongside a lean team of AI engineers and own the architecture, the hard calls, and the code that ships - Deliver the concrete artifacts clients run in production: MCP servers, sub-agents, agent skills, and the pipelines around them - Work across the full stack and the model layer - Navigate real enterprise environments: the client's IT systems, security constraints, and the stakeholders who own them Own the outcome - Stand behind results with observability and evals the client can check for themselves - Win over the people who use the system day to day; a deployment succeeds when they rely on it - Carry accounts end-to-end: some weeks are executive workshops, some weeks are debugging and agentic orchestration - Bring patterns back to the team so the next engagement starts further ahead ## WHAT WILL HELP YOU SUCCEED - Typically 7+ years building and shipping software, including real time as a technical leader who executives actually trusted - A track record of owning production systems end-to-end, from first commit through live operation - You have shipped LLM-powered systems to production: agents, retrieval, evals, and the judgment to know when each is the wrong tool - Strong hands-on skills in Python and TypeScript or JavaScript, and comfort picking up whatever the client's stack demands - You have built or maintained eval frameworks that showed whether a system actually worked - You can hold your own with a CTO in the morning and be in the codebase in the afternoon - At home with ambiguity and a small team: you would rather figure it out than wait for a playbook - A straightforward communicator who explains hard technical calls in plain language - Low ego, high cooperation: you balance competing priorities with integrity and make the people around you better - You have been a founder, CTO, or first engineer building a product or startup and know what it costs to get something live. - Bonus: depth in healthcare or private equity, where much of our current work lives If this role sounds like you but you don't check every box, apply anyway. We care more about what you've shipped than how the resume reads. ## WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT HERE - Build AI that ships - Shape the practice: the way Blank Metal does forward deployment will carry your fingerprints - Craft meets velocity: we obsess over quality while delivering at startup speed - Outcome-driven model: our work aligns with client success, not billable hours - AI-native culture: you'll work with peers who deeply understand modern AI's potential and limits - Real collaboration: open conversations, shared ownership, and space to bring your voice ## COMPENSATION & BENEFITS This role pays a base salary commensurate with experience, plus a revenue-based variable comp structure tied to the accounts you carry: when your clients win and the company grows, your comp grows with it. We offer comprehensive health coverage, 401(k) with match, flexible time off, flexible work arrangements, and support for professional development. ## ABOUT BLANK METAL Blank Metal is an AI-native engineering company that partners with enterprises to deliver production AI fast. We blend strategic insight with hands-on execution, shipping high-impact systems that turn AI initiatives into measurable business results. We're builders, not theorists. Our team of seasoned engineers, designers, and strategists work across industries to create AI applications that actually get used and make a difference. Blank Metal is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all backgrounds and perspectives. Diversity makes our work better and our team stronger. ## About Blank Metal ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Blank Metal is an AI-native engineering partner that helps enterprises build production-ready AI products and platforms in 90 days or less, acting as an "anti-consultancy" that prioritizes outcomes over billable hours. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage) - **Headquarters**: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States - **Founded**: 2025 - **Founders**: Matt Johnson (CEO), Eric Johnson (CTO), Teresa Marchek (Head of Product), Elli Rader (Chief Growth Officer), Missy Bemm (Head of Partnership Operations), Jeff Hinck (Board Member), Justin Kaufenberg (Board Member) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: AI-Native Engineering Services / Technology Consulting - **Target customers**: B2B; mid-sized companies ($500M–$1B revenue) needing outsourced AI teams, large multi-billion dollar corporations needing AI strategy and talent, and Rally Ventures portfolio companies needing rapid prototyping. - **Mission or purpose statement**: To help companies navigate the most profound technological shift in decades by delivering production-ready enterprise AI solutions without the overhead of traditional consulting. ## Products & Services - **Enterprise GenAI Platform**: Build and deploy AI-native applications, AI agents, and replatform legacy systems — from "cool demo" to "enterprise production." - **AI Roadmap & ROI Model (PLAN)**: Board-ready AI strategy and ROI model to align executives and secure funding. - **Production-Ready MVP (BUILD)**: Time-boxed MVP delivered in less than 90 days with KPIs wired in from day one. - **Training & Governance (OWN)**: Team upskilling, bootcamps, and governance frameworks so clients can scale the win internally. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company) - **Key Metric**: Total Funding — $3.0M Seed round (June 24, 2025) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Rally Ventures, Traction Capital, Pure Play Partners (co-led seed round) - **Growth Signals**: - Monthly website traffic growth: +282.5% - LinkedIn follower growth: +7.4% monthly (1,322 followers) - Headcount growth: +4.0% monthly; currently 20 employees (23 according to Built In) - Active job postings: 12 (monthly growth +140%, quarterly +100%) - Client outcomes: 20% revenue lift for a national insurer, 30% productivity uplift for an enterprise workforce platform, board-adopted C-suite 2030 AI roadmap for a healthcare client ## Competitive Advantages - **"Anti-consultancy" model**: Lean, senior teams with <5% overhead; outcomes-based contracts (not hour factories). - **AI-native from day one**: Every workflow, process, and internal tool is built for velocity and iteration. - **Ship speed**: Time-boxed MVPs delivered in weeks, not quarters. - **Deep partnerships**: Expertise and partnerships with best models, APIs, and ecosystems (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.). - **Performance Guaranteed**: Measurable ROI, not strategy decks. ## Strategic Focus - **Current priorities**: Scaling the team (12 open roles), expanding partner ecosystem (OpenAI and Anthropic Partner Lead roles), and serving diverse client sizes from startups to Fortune 500s. - **Growth direction**: Building a place where top AI talent can explore broadly, while helping clients build, maintain, and scale AI products and tools. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Small, autonomous squads vs. sprawling org charts; "builders who want to move fast, obsess over craft, and change what’s possible for clients." - **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: Hybrid workspace with flexible on-site time; offices in Minneapolis, MN (HQ) and a second location in Minnesota. - **Notable perks**: Opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI tech (OpenAI, Anthropic, PyTorch, Kubernetes, etc.); exposure to diverse clients from startups to Fortune 500s; strong emphasis on craft and impact. - **Engineering Culture**: AI-powered, impact-obsessed; "we measure success in production." Tech stack includes Python, TypeScript, React, SQL, PyTorch, Kubernetes, Terraform, OpenAI, and more. ## Sources 1. [blankmetal.ai](https://www.blankmetal.ai/) 2. [LinkedIn - Blank Metal](https://www.linkedin.com/company/blank-metal) 3. [Built In - Blank Metal Careers](https://builtin.com/company/blank-metal) 4. [Rally Ventures - Blank Metal](https://www.rallyventures.com/blank-metal/) 5. [Twin Cities Business - New AI Firm Blank Metal Raises $3 Million](https://tcbmag.com/new-ai-firm-blank-metal-raises-3-million/) 6. [FinSMEs - Blank Metal Raises $3M in Funding](https://www.finsmes.com/2025/06/blank-metal-raises-3m-in-funding.html) ## Other roles at Blank Metal - [Senior AI Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-ai-engineer-blank-metal-minneapolis-ekxx13k4bs0h) — Minneapolis, MN - [Office Coordinator, Part-Time](https://feeny.ai/job/office-coordinator-part-time-blank-metal-minneapolis-vtt1vd322984) — Minneapolis, MN - [Future opportunities at Blank Metal](https://feeny.ai/job/future-opportunities-at-blank-metal-blank-metal-minneapolis-5np2tpd2z1qm) — Minneapolis, MN - [AI Product Leader](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-product-leader-blank-metal-minneapolis-nyy1eaqvqayd) — Minneapolis, MN - [AI Workflow Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-workflow-engineer-blank-metal-minneapolis-m62c4xv4x1db) — Minneapolis, MN - [AI Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-engineer-blank-metal-minneapolis-jnyk7kz1gayr) — Minneapolis, MN - [Senior Full Stack Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-full-stack-engineer-blank-metal-minneapolis-qwbt7t1jvq44) — Minneapolis, MN - [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-wispr-flow-san-francisco-pgja820f57tt) — San Francisco, CA - [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-handoff-sao-paulo-xyrh0ahftpxa) — São Paulo, Brazil - [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-ascertain-remote-rd1xdrv0j2nx)