Forward Deployed Engineer

LiveKit is hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer for a remote role open to applicants in Ireland. It pays €153k-€274k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on LiveKit.

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this forward deployed engineer role is Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
This is listed as a remote role.
The posting mentions OpenAI, Sdk and API among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a mid-level role.
LiveKit has 29 other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Partner with customers to design, build, and scale real-time voice AI applications on LiveKit.

OpenAISdkAPI

ai-agentsspeechreal-time-communicationsvoice-aicustomer-engineeringsystem-architecture

About LiveKit

LiveKit is building the infrastructure layer for the agentic era of computing. Our platform gives developers everything they need to build, test, deploy, scale, and observe AI agents in production. Founded in 2021, LiveKit powers voice and agentic AI applications for OpenAI, Salesforce, Spotify, Meta, and tens of thousands of other developers, collectively facilitating billions of calls each year.

About This Role

LiveKit is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to work directly with customers building real-time communication and voice AI applications on the LiveKit platform.

This role sits at the intersection of engineering, architecture, and customer implementation. Forward Deployed Engineers partner closely with customers to design systems, prototype solutions, and solve complex technical challenges as teams move from experimentation to production.

You'll work alongside customers' engineering teams to help them successfully deploy and scale applications built on LiveKit — designing architectures, building integrations, debugging production issues, and developing reference implementations that demonstrate best practices.

This is an ideal role for engineers who enjoy solving real-world problems in real customer environments. You'll collaborate closely with Product and Engineering to surface insights from customer implementations and help shape the future of the LiveKit platform.

Your mission: make it seamless for developers to build and scale real-time audio, video, and AI applications on LiveKit.

You'll Thrive Here If You:

are obsessed with helping developers succeed
are known as the go-to person for solving tricky technical issues
work hard and can move fast without sacrificing quality
care deeply about polish, detail, and clear communication
are a fast learner, frequently picking up new tools, systems, and skills

What You'll Do

Work directly (remotely or on-site when necessary) with customer engineering teams to design and implement real-time applications built on LiveKit
Design scalable architectures for voice AI, real-time media, and developer platform use cases
Build prototype integrations, reference implementations, and sample applications to accelerate customer development
Help customers navigate SDKs, APIs, infrastructure, and deployment strategies for production systems
Debug and troubleshoot complex technical issues in production environments
Lead technical workshops and architecture sessions with developers and product teams
Translate customer needs into technical insights that inform product and platform development
Partner with Product and Engineering to improve developer experience, documentation, and tooling
Contribute code, examples, or improvements to LiveKit's open-source ecosystem when helpful
Act as a trusted advisor helping customers successfully launch and scale applications on LiveKit

Who You Are

Strong engineering background with 7+ years of experience in backend or infrastructure engineering
Proficient in one or more programming languages such as Go, Python, Node, Rust, or C++
Comfortable working across APIs, SDKs, distributed systems, and cloud infrastructure
Experience building or integrating developer platforms or real-time systems
Able to quickly understand complex systems and debug issues in real-world environments
Strong communicator who can collaborate directly with customer engineering teams and internal product teams
Comfortable operating in fast-paced, low-process environments where ownership and initiative matter
Excited to work hands-on with customers solving complex technical implementation challenges

Nice to Have

Experience with WebRTC, real-time media systems, or telephony/SIP infrastructure
Familiarity with voice AI, conversational agents, or AI infrastructure
Experience working in customer-facing engineering roles such as Solutions Engineer, Field Engineer, or Forward Deployed Engineer
Experience contributing to open-source projects or developer ecosystems
Previous experience building with or integrating LiveKit

Our Commitment to You

An opportunity to build something truly impactful to the world
Contribute to open source alongside world-class engineers
Competitive salary and equity package
Health, dental, and vision benefits
Flexible vacation policy

We are hiring across multiple levels (Forward Deployed Engineer, Senior FDE, and Staff FDE). Compensation will be determined by experience, technical depth, and interview performance.

LiveKit is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable law. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact recruiting@livekit.io.

How we rate this

Forward Deployed Engineer at LiveKit rates 65 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Forward Deployed Engineer is an open job at LiveKit.
Level rates this role AI Level 3 of 4: Works on AI.
The listed salary is €153k-€274k a year.
The role is based in Ireland (Remote) and is marked remote.
The job was posted on July 8, 2026.
Seniority: mid.
Applications are handled by LiveKit. Apply on LiveKit

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

AI agentsSpeechReal Time CommunicationsVoice AICustomer EngineeringSystem ArchitectureOpenAISdk

Also common in forward deployed engineer jobs at this level

TypeScript LLM JavaScript AWS Azure Google Cloud

Pay

Typical forward deployed engineer job: $180k

Use the typical forward deployed engineer figure as a reference when pay comes up. See forward deployed engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

How do you decide when an AI agent can act on its own versus asking for approval first?
What have you built with speech recognition or text-to-speech, and where did it break?
Tell me about a project where real time communications was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where voice ai was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where customer engineering was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: AI agents, Speech, Real Time Communications, Voice AI, and Customer Engineering. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.

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