Clera is a talent-matching platform that replaces traditional job applications by connecting candidates and hiring teams through curated introductions.
ABOUT THE ROLE A fast-growing, Y Combinator–backed startup is building AI agents for the short-haul trucking and industrial logistics space — a massive market that still largely runs on spreadsheets and manual planning. With strong month-over-month revenue growth and a rapidly expanding US customer base, the team is hiring its first technical hire on the ground in the US: a Founding Forward Deployed Engineer who will own the full technical success of US customers from day one. This is a high-impact, front-line role at the intersection of engineering, customer success, and product. You'll be the technical face of the company to US customers — embedded in their operations, solving real problems, and feeding critical insights back to the core product team. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own end-to-end technical deployments for US customers, from onboarding through to long-term success - Integrate the AI scheduling platform with customers' existing job management systems, GPS tools, and operational workflows - Act as the primary technical point of contact for US customers, diagnosing and resolving issues quickly - Work closely with the product and engineering teams to translate customer feedback and field learnings into product improvements - Build repeatable deployment playbooks, integration patterns, and technical documentation to scale the US go-to-market motion - Identify and surface expansion opportunities within existing accounts - Travel to customer sites as needed to support hands-on deployments and build strong relationships with operations and planning teams WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Required - 3–10+ years of experience in a forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, technical customer success, or similar customer-facing technical role - Strong software engineering fundamentals — comfortable reading, writing, and debugging code across a modern stack - Experience integrating SaaS products with third-party systems (APIs, webhooks, data pipelines, etc.) - Excellent communication skills — able to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical operations teams - Self-starter mentality with the ability to operate independently in an early-stage, fast-moving environment - Based in or willing to relocate to Austin, TX Nice to Have - Background in logistics, fleet management, waste management, or industrial operations - Experience at an early-stage startup or as a first/founding hire in a technical go-to-market role - Familiarity with AI/ML-powered products or route optimization tools - Experience working with GPS telematics or job management platforms COMPENSATION & BENEFITS - Salary: $110,000 – $135,000 USD annually - Founding-team equity participation - High-ownership role with direct influence on product, culture, and US market strategy Visa sponsorship is not available for this role. LOCATION This is an on-site role based in Austin, TX. Some travel to customer sites across the US should be expected.