Junior Forward Deployed Engineer

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