---
title: 'Junior Forward Deployed Engineer at Interplay'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/junior-forward-deployed-engineer-interplay-new-york-bgefcrf94knw'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-11'
---

# Junior Forward Deployed Engineer at Interplay

- **Company:** Interplay
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-10
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/interplay/eff79e22-1cf9-449d-be03-c9f4402955c7

## Job description

## JUNIOR FORWARD DEPLOYED ENGINEER

## LOCATION

New York, NY, USA (Hybrid work – required to be in office 2–3 days/week)

## JOB DESCRIPTION

At Interplay, we invest, coach, and cofound companies. We're building a next-generation AI operations platform designed to transform how our firm and portfolio companies operate. We're looking for a Junior Forward Deployed Engineer to embed directly with our business lines (Ventures, Accelerator, Studio, and Ascend) and translate real operational needs into working software, fast. You'll sit next to the end user, ship quickly, and iterate in the room rather than over a spec doc.

## WHAT YOU'LL DO

- Embed with business line teams to understand their workflows firsthand.
- Rapidly prototype and ship internal tools, integrations, and AI-powered features.
- Translate ambiguous, real-world problems into scoped technical solutions.
- Write production code across frontend, backend, and APIs.
- Integrate LLM-powered automation into day-to-day workflows.
- Demo early, gather feedback in person, and ship again.
- Document what you build and hand off durable solutions as needs stabilize.

## WHO YOU ARE

- A builder with 0–2 years of engineering experience, hungry to learn fast in a high-ownership environment.
- Energized by ambiguity and comfortable working directly with non-technical stakeholders.
- Scrappy — you'd rather ship a rough version today than a polished one next month.
- Curious about AI and LLM tooling and eager to apply it to real problems.
- A strong communicator who can explain technical tradeoffs simply.
- Low ego, coachable, and outcome-driven.

## REQUIRED SKILLS

- 0–2 years in software engineering (internships and strong personal projects count).
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Working proficiency across at least one modern frontend and backend stack.
- Track record of shipping applications end to end.
- Solid understanding of APIs and databases (SQL).
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- U.S. work authorization.

## NICE TO HAVE

- Experience with Next.js, Vercel, and Supabase.
- Strong Python background.
- Familiarity with AI/LLM platforms (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini).
- Proficient in Claude Code / Cursor / Other AI Enabled Coding tools
- Plus (Experience building agents)

## COMPENSATION

$85–100k base salary, commensurate with experience Competitive health benefits

## About Interplay

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Interplay is a startup ecosystem that provides venture capital, an accelerator, a studio, and platform services to support founders and innovation at every stage.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Venture Capital & Operating Platform)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2012
- **Founders**: Mark Peter Davis (Managing Partner)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Venture Capital, Startup Acceleration, Company Building (Studio), Operating Services, Multi-Family Office
- **Target customers**: Early-stage founders, startups (Pre-Seed to Series B), and high-net-worth individuals (family office clients)
- **Mission statement**: “Entrepreneurs are the primary driver of social change. Our goal is to accelerate their journey.”

## Products & Services
- **Venture Capital**: Invests $500K–$2M in early-stage North American tech companies, with a focus on application-layer AI and marketplace businesses. Co-invests in Seed to Series B rounds (sweet spot: Series A).
- **Accelerator**: Provides a $50K cash investment for a 6% equity stake, plus a six-month remote program with hands-on support as interim co-founders. Sector-agnostic but prefers pure software and tech-enabled services.
- **Studio**: Partners with CEOs to build companies from scratch, typically starting from internal ideas. Invests $100K–$10M+ to break the cold-start problem.
- **Platform**: Offers core operating services (accounting, marketing, legal, professional development, outsourcing) and vendor discounts to portfolio companies.
- **Ascend (Multi-Family Office)**: Provides full-service portfolio and investment management, plus advisory services for estate planning, philanthropy, taxes, and more.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue of $9.0M (as of latest data)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not disclosed; the firm acts as a conviction co-investor and maintains a network of hundreds of executives.
- **Growth Signals**: 28 employees (+25% YoY), 8,319 LinkedIn followers (+16.7% yearly), active job postings (+200% yearly), and a growing presence in Mexico, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Full‑stack ecosystem** – Combines capital, company building, and operational support under one roof, allowing founders to access multiple resources seamlessly.
- **Hands‑on, interim co‑founder model** – In the accelerator, Interplay embeds itself as an interim co-founder, aligning incentives through equity (6% common stock).
- **Network density** – A large pool of executives, engineers, and interns that portfolio companies can tap into for talent and introductions.
- **Conviction co‑investing** – Performs its own underwriting but never leads, allowing it to remain flexible and aligned with market pricing.

## Strategic Focus
- **Investment thesis**: Application-layer AI and marketplace businesses in North America (primarily US, also Canada and Latin America).
- **Studio approach**: Identifies gaps in society’s “social fabric” and builds commercially viable solutions, often recruiting a co-founder/CEO after internal ideation and diligence.
- **Global reach with US focus**: Accelerator is remote and open worldwide, but companies must target US customers; studio companies are built in the US.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Rated 4.6/5 on LinkedIn (Work-Life: 4.5, Compensation: 3.9, Culture: 5.0, Career: 4.7).
- **Work model**: Accelerator program is fully remote; studio and venture teams likely operate in a hybrid environment based in New York.
- **Open roles** (as of search date): Cofounder + CEO (Manufacturing), Associate (AI), VP of Engineering – indicating opportunities for both operators and investors.
- **Perks**: “Unreasonable support” through platform services, access to a vast executive network, and a collaborative environment where employees work directly with founders.

## Sources
1. [interplay.vc – Homepage](https://www.interplay.vc/)
2. [interplay.vc – About](https://www.interplay.vc/about)
3. [interplay.vc – Jobs](https://www.interplay.vc/jobs)
4. [interplay.vc – Ventures](https://www.interplay.vc/ventures)
5. [LinkedIn – Interplay](https://www.linkedin.com/company/interplayecosystem)

## Other roles at Interplay

- [Operating Partner, Studio](https://feeny.ai/job/operating-partner-studio-interplay-new-york-1gx1zpqbrykv) — New York, NY
- [Head of Growth – Business Development, Sales & Government Affairs, Lykos](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-growth-business-development-sales-government-affairs-lykos-interplay-tvwahdtcek2c) — Atlanta, GA
- [AI Labs Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-labs-intern-interplay-new-york-3nht8q7x3w7b) — New York, NY
- [Senior CNC Machinist](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-cnc-machinist-interplay-atlanta-70bcmkchc6rp) — Atlanta, GA
- [Cofounder + CEO, Industrial Bottleneck Intelligence, Studio](https://feeny.ai/job/cofounder-ceo-industrial-bottleneck-intelligence-studio-interplay-new-york-ayj9p76s493a) — New York, NY
- [Data + Software Lead, Lykos](https://feeny.ai/job/data-software-lead-lykos-interplay-atlanta-q8eg1e20ve8q) — Atlanta, GA
- [Senior Mechanical Engineer, Lykos](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-lykos-interplay-atlanta-54891fvvdzcn) — Atlanta, GA
- [Cofounder + CEO, American Independence](https://feeny.ai/job/cofounder-ceo-american-independence-interplay-new-york-9ew5h100a5vk) — New York, NY
- [Motor / Electromechanical Applications Engineer, Vandrel](https://feeny.ai/job/motor-electromechanical-applications-engineer-vandrel-interplay-new-york-8c55avyhqwss) — New York, NY
- [Head of Process Engineering, Vandrel](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-process-engineering-vandrel-interplay-new-york-jmm7zm8dywew) — New York, NY