---
title: 'Forward-Deployed Engineer at Forum Ventures'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-forum-ventures-chicago-3dq894cfdta0'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Forward-Deployed Engineer at Forum Ventures

- **Company:** Forum Ventures
- **Location:** Chicago, IL
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/forum-ventures/53ea900b-c739-43a7-b451-7e7ae3de3117

## Job description

Full-time · Chicago, IL (with travel to customer fleet sites)

## ABOUT ELMEEDA

Elmeeda https://elmeeda.com is the decision and coordination layer for American trucking. Every fleet runs 5–12 systems that don't talk to each other — telematics, TMS, maintenance, fuel, compliance — and today the fleet manager is the integration. Our AI reads every system and acts: when a truck throws a fault code 600 miles from base, Elmeeda assesses severity, picks the shop, calls the vendor, books the bay, files the warranty claim, recovers the load, and notifies the customer. We're live across multiple contracted fleets and deploying with a top-10 US carrier (10,000+ trucks). We're a Palantir Startup Fellowship company, winners of Palantir's DevCon hackathon, and backed by investors across AI, defense ontology, and fleet innovation.

## THE ROLE

This is not a build-from-the-office job. You'll embed directly with enterprise fleet customers — sitting with maintenance directors, dispatchers, and shop managers — to understand their workflows, then ship working software the same week. You'll build integrations across telematics, TMS, and maintenance systems, design agent workflows on top of messy real-world fleet data, and own deployments end to end: from first discovery conversation to production running on thousands of trucks.

## MUST-HAVE

- Real logistics/trucking/supply chain experience — you've worked in or built for fleets, carriers, brokers, 3PLs, or fleet maintenance and understand how trucking operations actually run
- Expert, daily-driver fluency with AI-native development tools — Claude Code, Codex, and agentic coding workflows are how you build, not something you're "familiar with." You should be able to demonstrate this live
- Strong full-stack engineering with a bias for integrations: REST/webhook APIs, data pipelines, third-party systems (telematics, TMS, maintenance platforms)
- Extremely high energy and customer-facing confidence — comfortable presenting to a VP of Maintenance in the morning and shipping the fix that afternoon
- Extreme ownership — you run at ambiguity, don't wait for specs, and treat the customer's problem as yours

## NICE-TO-HAVE

- Prior forward-deployed experience (Palantir-style FDE / deployment strategist, or equivalent embedded customer engineering)
- GCP
- Palantir AIP / Foundry — ontology-driven data modeling and operational AI
- Voice AI: ElevenLabs and Twilio

## WHY THIS ROLE

You'll be the first deployment-side engineering hire at a company going from first enterprise contract to industry standard, working directly with the founders. Your work runs on real trucks moving real freight from week one.

## About Forum Ventures

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Forum Ventures is a founder-first venture studio, accelerator, and pre-seed fund dedicated to helping early-stage B2B software founders go from zero to one.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Venture Capital / Accelerator / Studio)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States (with offices in San Francisco and Toronto)
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Not publicly listed as a single founder; the firm was built by a team including Mike Cardamone (CEO & Managing Partner), Jonah Midanik (Managing Partner), James Murphy (Managing Partner), and others.

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Venture Capital & Private Equity Principals (B2B software startup ecosystem)
- **Target customers**: Pre-seed and seed-stage B2B software founders; also serves as a co-creator of new ventures through its studio arm.
- **Mission**: To make the startup journey easier, more accessible, and successful for early-stage founders.

## Products & Services
- **Accelerator**: A 12-week (or similar) program that acts as a fractional co-founder, providing hands-on go-to-market and fundraising support to help founders achieve customer traction and raise their first institutional round.
- **Pre-Seed Fund**: A dedicated fund that invests in early-stage B2B software companies, leveraging the accelerator’s team and resources to provide more hands-on support than a typical pre-seed fund.
- **Venture Studio**: An AI-first studio that co-creates new ventures from the concept stage, working with entrepreneurs to ideate, validate, launch, and scale B2B startups using a team of operators, product designers, and developers.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private entity)
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue of $40M (LinkedIn estimate); total follow-on funding raised by portfolio companies exceeds $1B.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: The firm itself has raised a $20M venture studio fund (announced 2025). Portfolio companies have gone on to raise from top-tier funds including A16z, Bessemer, Kleiner Perkins, General Catalyst, NEA, Emergence Capital, Menlo Ventures, Craft Ventures, and Founders Fund.
- **Growth Signals**: 430+ companies funded, 1,300+ founder community members, 10 years of operation, 25,541 LinkedIn followers (+43.9% YoY), and a recent acquisition of Vanse AI (Feb 2025).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Founder-first approach**: The team is composed entirely of former founders and operators who have built and scaled their own software companies, providing empathy and practical guidance.
- **Full-stack support**: Offers a continuum from studio (idea stage) → accelerator (early traction) → pre-seed fund (capital), making it a one-stop shop for early-stage B2B founders.
- **Massive community and network**: Over 1,300 founders in a deeply connected community, plus access to a wide network of mentors and experts.
- **Proven track record**: $1B+ in follow-on funding raised by portfolio companies from top-tier VCs.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI-first ventures**: The newly launched $20M venture studio fund is specifically focused on building AI-native B2B companies.
- **Expanding geographic reach**: While headquartered in New York, the firm has offices in San Francisco and Toronto, and portfolio companies are global.
- **Scaling the studio model**: Continuously looking for “studio founders” – individuals who have always wanted to start a company but need a co-creative partner to ideate, validate, and build.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: A team of “doers and connectors” that operates like a startup – fail fast, iterate quickly, and embrace ambiguity. The firm is built by founders for founders, so the environment is entrepreneurial and supportive.
- **Remote/Hybrid/Office**: Not explicitly stated, but roles are likely hybrid or in-office given the hands-on studio and accelerator model. The team is distributed across New York, San Francisco, and Toronto.
- **Notable perks**: Opportunities to work directly with early-stage founders, participate in venture building, and be part of a small but mighty team that has outsized impact. The firm emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- **Open roles**: Current openings include positions on the Forum team, studio founder opportunities, and portfolio company roles (see careers page).

## Sources
1. [forumvc.com](https://www.forumvc.com/)
2. [forumvc.com/careers](https://www.forumvc.com/careers)
3. [forumvc.com/team](https://www.forumvc.com/team)
4. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/forum-ventures](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/forum-ventures)
5. [linkedin.com/company/forumvc](https://www.linkedin.com/company/forumvc)

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