Forward-Deployed Engineer (f/m/d) at Zeit AI (YC S24) (Munich, Germany)
Zeit AI (YC S24)· Munich, Germany· €70k–€230k·
Role details
Job description
The opportunity LLMs are changing how analytical work gets done. Tasks that once required teams of data engineers can now be solved faster and more flexibly, if the underlying data and workflows are set up correctly. Zeit AI builds ZeitMind, the autonomous data engineer for the European mid-market. We work with real companies and real data: exports from ERP systems, CRM data, spreadsheets, internal databases. Our goal is that non-technical operators answer questions and run workflows using natural language that used to require external support or a lot of manual work. As a Forward-Deployed Engineer, you make this happen with the customer. You connect data and solve concrete business problems with our product. You are a technical problem solver, the customer's trusted partner, and you feed everything you learn back into the product.
What you will do
- sit with customers across different industries and understand how they operate today and where ZeitMind can take real work off their plate
- solve real-world problems where value is hidden inside of data
- model business logic in ZeitMind and get it running in production
- own customers end to end and build data applications to make critical business decisions
- feed what you learn back into the product
You will thrive here if you
- are comfortable and enjoy working directly with customers from Day 1
- think in production systems, not one-off analyses
- care whether something works in production and delivers value to end users
- are comfortable with ambiguity and enjoy figuring out what the right solution is
- bring a solid technical foundation to work with large data sets and critically understand SQL logic
- studied at the intersection of business and computer science, such as business analytics, IT systems engineering or information systems
- speak English C1 or above; German is a big plus (much of our customer base runs in German)
What we offer
- Munich is our home base, while we grow internationally from London. In-person by design, we support your relocation within Europe.
- Regular team offsites for product sprints and staying close to the frontier.
- Zeit AI package: daily lunch allowance, covered dinner in the office, wellpass membership, best tech & tools
- €5k referral bonus if we hire someone you refer.
About the interview process
- First call with Elisa
- Founder data interview with Marvin
- Decomposition interview
- Behavioural founder interview
- Reference check
- ZeitMind take-home case + Meet the team
- Offer
Apply Still apply if you do not match every requirement. What matters most is ownership, curiosity, and the ability to execute in real-world environments.
Why work at Zeit AI (YC S24)
- High-impact, small team: A team of 10 engineers, builders, and operators — every hire has outsized ownership and impact
- YC-backed startup: Part of Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch, with strong investor support and a clear growth trajectory
- In-person culture: Munich-based, in-person work — not remote. Engineers are forward-deployed at customer sites, not behind a screen
- Cutting-edge AI work: Building with frontier models to solve real, messy enterprise data problems — the kind of work that was previously only possible at Palantir or large tech companies
- Founding team pedigree: Founders are ex-Palantir (Leopold led DACH business, Marvin deployed first AIP instances). Early engineers come from Palantir, BCG, and top European tech companies
- Transparent and principled culture: The team operates on five core principles: Bias for Action, Live Growth, Ownership, Candor, and Craftsmanship
- Competitive compensation: Salaries range from €70K–€120K EUR for engineering roles, with equity (0.10%–1.00%) for founding team members
- Real business impact: Customer results include €700k saved in inventory control, €450k in procurement savings, and 90% reduction in Excel reporting