Platform Engineer (Forward Deployment)

Who We Are

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems—designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction.

Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in.

We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute.

The Way We Work

The people who thrive here are builders who move fast, communicate openly, take ownership, and continuously improve themselves, their teams, and our company. Here's what that looks like in practice:

Move with Urgency: We move quickly, make thoughtful decisions, and keep momentum. We value action over perfection and learn by shipping.

Take Ownership: We own outcomes, not just our individual work. We make decisions that move the company forward and follow through.

Communicate Openly: We communicate directly, seek to understand, and create clarity for others. Honest conversations help us move faster together.

Build Great Teams: We lead by example, empower others, and create healthy teams where people can do their best work.

Raise the Bar: We're always improving ourselves. We learn from feedback, consistently challenge ourselves to grow, and focus on the work that matters most.

Think Long-Term: We design for what's next. We create scalable systems, simplify complexity, and use AI and automation to amplify our impact.

What We Are Looking For

We are seeking an experienced Platform Engineer to partner directly with Lightning customers to architect, build, and deploy production AI systems. Working alongside customer engineering teams, you'll solve complex technical challenges across inference infrastructure, distributed systems, APIs, and AI workflows—building reliable, observable systems that perform at scale. You'll translate customer requirements into production-ready software, turn bespoke solutions into reusable platform capabilities, and help shape the evolution of the Lightning Platform.

We're looking for a highly technical, customer-oriented platform engineer who thrives in fast-moving, ambiguous environments where success requires deep software engineering expertise, sound systems thinking, and the ability to collaborate directly with customer engineering teams to bring complex AI applications into production.

This role is based in one of our hubs (New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, or London), with a minimum of 2 in-office days per week and occasional team and company offsites.

What You'll Do

Partner directly with customers to design, implement, and deploy end-to-end AI systems and workflows on Lightning’s platform

Translate vague customer objectives into clear technical specifications, proof-of-concepts, and scalable production implementations

Own customer technical engagements end-to-end, from early discovery and architecture through deployment, monitoring, and expansion

Develop and maintain production-grade software systems and services using modern programming languages, with a strong preference for Python

Build reliable, observable systems with strong attention to latency, throughput, quality, scalability, and cost efficiency in production environments

Debug and optimize AI systems across inference infrastructure, model behavior, APIs, and distributed workloads to improve performance and reliability

Work closely with customer engineering teams throughout the full lifecycle of AI deployments, including technical discovery, implementation, deployment, and scaling

Collaborate cross-functionally with Lightning’s product and engineering teams to improve platform capabilities, influence roadmap priorities, and identify opportunities for reusable product improvements

Navigate ambiguity with sound technical judgment, making thoughtful tradeoffs and selecting the right tools and approaches without introducing unnecessary complexity

Demonstrate strong ownership and accountability in execution, with a commitment to delivering high-quality outcomes for both customers and internal teams

What You’ll Need

Required Qualifications

Strong software engineering experience building production full-stack applications, including modern frontend frameworks such as React and TypeScript, and backend services in Python, Go, or similar programming languages.

Experience working directly with customers in highly technical environments, such as Forward Deployed Engineering, Solutions Engineering, Applied AI Engineering, Technical Product Engineering, or related roles

Familiarity with AI/ML pipelines and the lifecycle of model development, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring

Experience deploying and operating production AI/ML systems in cloud or distributed environments

Familiarity with modern AI infrastructure and tooling such as Docker, Kubernetes, APIs, model serving systems, or distributed inference workloads

Strong communication and collaboration skills, especially when working through complex technical topics with customers, engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders

Ability to translate business needs into technical solutions and drive projects from initial concept through production delivery

Ability to execute effectively in ambiguous, fast-moving, high-growth environments

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field

Nice-to-Haves

Experience building, deploying, or optimizing large-scale AI/ML systems in production environments

Experience with modern AI stacks and tooling such as vLLM, TensorRT, Ray, LangGraph, vector databases, or workflow orchestration systems

Familiarity with inference optimization, distributed systems, or GPU-accelerated workloads

Startup experience or experience operating in highly cross-functional environments

Track record of rapidly shipping proof-of-concepts and production systems while maintaining strong engineering quality

Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, AI, or a related technical field

Compensation

We are committed to offering competitive compensation that reflects the value each team member brings to our mission. Final offers are based on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, and role expectations. In addition to base salary, our total rewards package for eligible roles includes a discretionary bonus, a meaningful equity component, and comprehensive benefits.

The anticipated annual base salary range for this role is:

$180,000 — $250,000 USD

Benefits and Perks

We offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package designed to support our employees’ health, well-being, and long-term success:

Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and eligible dependents.

Meaningful Equity: RSUs that give employees a stake in the company's long-term success.

Retirement Savings: 401(k) matching (U.S.) and pension contributions (U.K.).

Flexible Time Off: Unlimited PTO, company holidays, and floating holidays to support work-life balance.

Company-Wide Winter Break: Two weeks of company closure each winter to disconnect and recharge.

Paid Parental & Family Leave: Paid leave to support you and your family through life's important moments.

Professional Development: Annual learning and development allowance to support your professional growth.

Wellness Benefits: Wellness and work-from-home stipends to support your physical and mental well-being.

Sabbatical Program: Four weeks of paid sabba