Forward Deployed Engineer

About Ent

Ent is the intent-aware workspace security platform for securing human and AI-driven work. Built to protect productivity, the new attack surface, Ent understands not just what users and agents do but why, and intervenes at the moment of risk before incidents occur. Where existing tools see events, Ent sees intent, so security teams can step in at the moment of risk instead of investigating days later. Founded by Lou Manousos and Brandon Dixon, co-founders of RiskIQ (acquired by Microsoft) and the team behind Microsoft Security Copilot, Ent is in production with Global 2000 customers across hospitality, financial services, and defense, and backed by Decibel, Sequoia, Crosspoint Capital, Craft Ventures, Shield Capital, Felicis, and In-Q-Tel. We’re now hiring the team that will define this category.

How We Work

Customer first. The product and the business are built around problems we’ve watched real security teams struggle with — not the other way around. Every roadmap conversation starts with what a CISO told us last week.

Humble. No drama. We hire people who share the mission and trust each other to deliver. Teamwork over showmanship. Accountability over politics. The work speaks louder than the person doing it.

Urgency. The window to build a durable security company in the AI era is open right now and it will not stay open. The shot clock has started. We move at the speed of the people we want to protect.

About the Role

We are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to build and lead a core function at Ent.
This role sits at the intersection of customer delivery, product, and security research. You will work directly with our most strategic customers to stand up real-world deployments, prove value quickly, and shape how our product evolves. This is a ground up opportunity, writing the playbooks for the future.

FDE at Ent means being a subject matter expert, taking a powerful system and making it real inside complex environments, then turning that into something repeatable and scalable.

Ent is redefining endpoint security around behavior and intent, executing in real time at the edge. This role is how that vision becomes real inside customer environments. You will help define how modern security products are adopted, how prevention happens at the moment of action, and how security can enable—not slow down—productivity. If done right, this becomes a core advantage for the company.

What You'll Achieve

Build the function

• Define how we deploy, validate, and scale Ent within customer environments
• Bootstrap process, metrics, documentation and training for the FDE team
• Operate across product, customer, and security domains

Work directly with customers

• Embed with design partners and early customers
• Lead initial deployments across Insider Risk, DLP, SAT, AV/EDR development, Security for AI and other emerging modules
• Drive fast time-to-value through hands-on configuration, iteration, and problem solving
• Be a voice of the customer - helping drive
• Translate real customer workflows into durable deployment patterns

Shape the product

• Act as “internal customer zero” for the product and engineering teams
• Identify gaps in usability, performance, and real-world applicability
• Be a voice of the customer - helping drive product enhancements and product bugs
• Provide clear, actionable feedback that directly influences roadmap and prioritization
• Help define what a great end-user experience looks like

Bridge into security research

• Work closely with research teams to validate detection and prevention approaches
• Bring real-world user behavior and threat patterns into the system
• Help evolve intent-aware models through live environments

Scale what works

• Turn bespoke deployments into repeatable programs
• Build playbooks, templates, and frameworks that can be handed off to customers or partners
• Enable long-term ownership by customer teams and services providers

What You’ll Bring

• Experience in working in real world environments, forward deployed engineering, CXE, solutions engineering, or similar roles in cybersecurity or infrastructure
• Strong technical foundation (endpoint, systems, security, or adjacent)
• Proven ability to operate directly with customers in ambiguous, high-impact environments
• Product intuition—you know what makes something usable, valuable, and adopted daily
• Builder mindset—you are comfortable creating structure where none exists
• Ability to move fluidly between technical depth, customer engagement, and strategic thinking
• Experience taking early-stage deployments and turning them into scalable programs

Our Benefits

• Distributed workplace. While we have positions we hire for in our SF office, we also hire remotely across North America.
• Own a piece of the journey. Every teammate gets meaningful equity on top of their salary.
• We’ve got you covered. Generally, we pay 90% of your medical, dental, and vision is paid by Ent. We also cover 75% for your dependents.
• Take the time you need. Our flexible PTO lets you recharge, travel, or just take a breather.
• Family matters. 14 weeks of fully paid parental leave (birth, adoption, or foster)!
• Live well. A $100 monthly lifestyle account to spend on what keeps you healthy and happy — fitness, wellness, learning, and more.
• Set up your space. A $500 home office stipend when you join as a remote employee.

Diversity & Accommodations

We’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where people of all backgrounds, identities, experiences, and abilities are welcomed, valued, and supported. We recognize there is no single path to success and value nontraditional career journeys and diverse perspectives as key to building stronger, more innovative teams.

We strive to ensure an inclusive experience at every stage of hiring and are happy to provide reasonable accommodations. If you require accommodations or accessible formats at any point during our process, please let your recruiter know. As an equal opportunity employer, our hiring process is designed to put you at ease and help you do your best work. If there’s anything we can do to improve your experience, we’re always open to feedback.