Forward Deployed Engineer
Who We Are
Serval is an AI-native automation platform transforming how enterprises operate. We build intelligent agents that understand real-world workflows and execute them end-to-end — replacing manual processes and rigid legacy systems with adaptive, learning software. Founded in early 2024, Serval is already trusted by companies like General Motors, Notion, Perplexity, Vercel, Mercor, LangChain, and Verkada to automate high-volume, high-friction operational work across their organizations.
At the core of Serval is an agentic AI platform that turns natural language into production-grade workflows. Our agents don’t just respond to requests — they reason, take action across systems, and continuously improve with usage. What began with operational use cases has quickly evolved into a horizontal AI automation layer used across IT, HR, Finance, Security, Legal, and Engineering.
Our mission is to eliminate repetitive, manual work across the enterprise and give teams leverage through intelligent automation. Long term, we’re building the universal AI operations layer — a system of agents that sits across business functions and runs the workflows that keep modern companies moving.
We’re backed by leading investors including Sequoia Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Meritech, First Round, General Catalyst, Elad Gil, and others, and founded by product and engineering leaders from Verkada.
Role Overview
As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Serval, you’ll help bring agentic IT automation into some of the world’s most complex enterprises. You’ll work directly with customers to turn messy, high-stakes workflows into reliable AI-driven systems—shipping production code that influences both revenue and product direction. This is a hands-on role for builders who want real ownership, real stakes, and a direct line between their work and company growth.
You’ll sit at the intersection of product, engineering, and customers—turning real-world complexity into scalable solutions and driving adoption of our AI automation platform.
What You’ll Do
Architect and build production-grade systems for strategic pilots, turning complex requirements into scalable implementations that transition cleanly into core product
Design, implement, and maintain backend services, APIs, and integrations that extend Serval’s AI agent platform and are used across customers
Engineer secure, high-performance integrations with external systems, focusing on reliability, data modeling, observability, and long-term maintainability
Convert real-world customer edge cases into generalized, reusable product capabilities through thoughtful system design and code contributions
Own the technical lifecycle of key deployments, from initial architecture through scaling, performance optimization, and continuous improvement
What You’ll Need
2+ years of software engineering experience, ideally in a product-focused or customer-facing role
Strong coding and system design skills, with experience shipping production systems and building external integrations
Comfort operating in fast-moving environments with high ownership and limited structure
Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and business stakeholders
A track record of taking initiatives from ambiguous problem to shipped solution with measurable impact
Nice to Have
Experience at an early-stage startup as a founding or early engineer
Background working with enterprise customers or supporting complex technical sales cycles
Familiarity with IT, security, service management, or workflow automation domains
Experience building or deploying AI/LLM-powered features or agent-based systems
Interest in founding or building a company in the future
What We Offer
Impact: Be a key player in shaping the success of our product and company.
Growth: Build a fundamentally new AI product offering with the support of our experienced team and investors. Grow rapidly with the company.
Culture: Join a culture that values innovation, ownership, accountability, and fun.