Director of Forward Deployed Engineering - Vercel

About Vercel

Vercel is the agentic infrastructure company. We free people and agents to ship what’s next. As the team behind Next.js, v0, and AI SDK, we create products that help builders move from idea to production with speed, security, and exceptional developer experience.

About the Role

We are looking for a Director of Forward Deployed Engineering to build and lead Vercel's Forward Deployed Engineering and Professional Services function. You will define the engagement model, delivery methodology, commercial structure, and team strategy. This role requires embedding with strategic customers to design and ship production applications.

Note: This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days per week in our San Francisco, Austin, or New York offices.

What You Will Do

• Build, lead, and develop the Forward Deployed Engineering team, including hiring, training, and career development.
• Define the engagement model: scoping, staffing, sequencing, and account qualification.
• Own delivery excellence from technical scoping through production deployment.
• Establish the commercial model, including pricing, capacity planning, and resource allocation.
• Stay hands-on with architecture reviews, system design, and unblocking critical engagements.
• Define handoff protocols between Sales Engineering, Customer Success, and partners.
• Codify field learnings into repeatable playbooks and reference architectures.
• Synthesize customer insights into product feedback for Engineering and Product teams.

About You

• 10+ years in software engineering or technical consulting, with 5+ years leading customer-facing engineering teams.
• Experience building a function or service line from zero.
• Strong background in modern web technologies (JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js, cloud infrastructure).
• Experience building or deploying LLM-powered applications.
• Commercial acumen: experience scoping, pricing, and delivering enterprise technical engagements.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package, including equity.
• Inclusive Healthcare Package.
• Mentorship and professional development opportunities.
• Flexible Time Off.
• Gear and WFH budget to outfit your workspace.