Forward Deployed Engineer
Tessl
Location
London Office
Employment Type
Full time
Department
R&D
Tessl is a fast-growing Series A startup based in London, founded by Guy Podjarny. We’ve raised over $100M from world-class investors including Index Ventures, Accel, GV, and Boldstart, and this year we were ranked #2 in Sifted EU’s B2B SaaS Rising 100 and #20 in Sifted's AI 100.
At Tessl, we believe AI is transforming software development. AI Native Developers will define features, architecture, and workflows in specs, not code, guiding the work of AI agents. We’re building the pioneering platform for this new paradigm and leading the developer movement and ecosystem around it.
Joining Tessl means becoming an early team member with the opportunity to shape the future of how software is created and maintained.
Overview of role
This is a Senior Software Engineer role with a strong customer focus.
As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will be embedded at the intersection of product, engineering, and customer success. Relative to other Software Engineers, FDEs at Tessl trade long-running project depth for customer proximity and exploration.
You might spend a week working closely with a design partner, then embed inside a Tessl team for several weeks as an ad-hoc tech lead to deliver a feature that helps close a deal, then return to customers or repeat the cycle elsewhere.
You’ll report to Maurilio Cometto, our Head of Engineering.
What you’ll do
You’ll have a high level of autonomy and be able to make decisions based on what you believe will help you deliver the most success. You will:
Work directly with design partners and early adopters (typically 100+ employee companies) as a trusted technical advisor.
Embed inside Tessl teams as an ad-hoc technical lead to drive customer-motivated features to completion.
Identify concrete product gaps blocking adoption or deals, and turn them into shippable solutions.
Build production code and rapid prototypes. Apply strong judgment to balance speed and quality when the outcome isn’t known upfront.
Act as a tight feedback loop between customers and product/engineering, working in close partnership with Sales and Support while maintaining an engineering focus.
The key outcome is “shipped features that win customers”. Success in this role requires strong working relations with customers and engineering teams alike, seen as a trusted technical partner for both.
Required Skills & Experience
Core Technical Skills
Strong software engineering experience (typically 5+ years) — ideally with a track record of delivering complex, production-grade systems across backend, API, and tooling domains.
Familiar with multiple programming languages and frameworks, as well as system design and distributed systems. Participate in an on-call rota like all other senior engineers.
AI and Tooling Familiarity
Demonstrated ability to leverage AI assistants and coding agents to accelerate development workflows (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or equivalent). Power user of coding agents, able to explain their inner workings and get the most out of them.
Experience building or integrating systems that leverage AI/ML components, pipelines, or agent workflows.
Customer-Facing Engineering
Ability to translate ambiguous product requirements into actionable engineering tasks.
Demonstrated ability to self-organize and drive projects with minimal operational overhead. Able to operate independently, in short-term task forces inside Tessl, or embedded directly with customers.
Salary and benefits
We offer a competitive salary that reflects your skills and experience, along with an equity package aligned with our early-stage growth. Our benefits portfolio is continually evolving, and we currently provide health insurance with Aviva that extends to partners and dependents.
Our office, just a short walk from King’s Cross station, is pet-friendly, and we regularly host team socials, lunches, drinks and off-sites. We’re a hybrid workplace with primary in-office days on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
Application Process
Here’s an outline of what you can expect during our interview process:
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Introductory Call with one of our engineering leaders
A relaxed chat to learn about your background, interests, and career goals. We’ll also share more about the role, Tessl’s vision, and answer any questions you have.
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Take-Home Exercise
You’ll receive a practical challenge based on real scenarios you might tackle at Tessl: an opportunity to showcase your approach to problem-solving on your own schedule.
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On-site Technical Session
You’ll pair with two of our lead engineers to build on your take-home exercise. This session simulates working together on real problems and allows us to explore your technical expertise more deeply.
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Culture Conversation with our People Lead
A two-way dialogue about our values, team dynamic, and your motivations. Feel free to ask about life at Tessl, growth opportunities, or anything else you’re curious about.
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Leadership Discussion with Maurilio (Head of Engineering), and potentially also with Guy (CEO) or Dru (Head of Product)
Our final stage focuses on strategic alignment and long-term vision. You’ll learn more about Tessl’s roadmap and learn more about how you could contribute to our mission.
Throughout the process, if you have any specific requirements or need adjustments, please let us know: we’re happy to accommodate.
We care deeply about the warm, inclusive environment we’re building at Tessl and we value diversity – we welcome applications from those typically underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this role but are not totally sure whether you’re the right person, do apply anyway!