Hire engineers who can build with customers, handle integrations, and own deployment work. Work directly with Cheri Kruger to define the role and find candidates.
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A personal search.
A clearer brief.
A better fit.
Kruger Recruiting helps startups and growing companies hire forward deployed engineers who combine production software work with customer collaboration. Cheri manages role definition, candidate sourcing, interview coordination, and offer discussions across the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
A forward deployed engineer builds and adapts software in close contact with customers. The role combines hands-on engineering with discovery, deployment, and feedback from real use. The balance varies by company.
This engineer works in customer environments, connects a product to existing systems, and feeds deployment lessons into product improvements. They stay accountable for technical delivery beyond the customer handoff.
Look for production software work, integration judgment, and comfort explaining trade-offs to customers.
A solutions engineer usually supports evaluation and adoption through demos, prototypes, technical discovery, or solution design. Some roles include production code. Others focus on pre-sale or customer enablement.
Look for the actual coding, delivery, and post-sale ownership the role requires.
This broad label can describe product engineers who meet customers, investigate needs, or support launches. It does not by itself say who owns deployment or integrations.
Look for a clear boundary between customer support, product development, and implementation work.
Forward deployed roles vary. A useful brief names what the engineer will build, where it will run, and how the work connects to the product team.
Name the customer context that shapes the engineering work. This may include cloud environments, data access, security requirements, APIs, or existing workflows.
Which customer problem will this person own first?
Customer work can expose product gaps. Clarify how the engineer will work with product and engineering, and who decides whether a solution becomes part of the core product.
What stays customer-specific, and what belongs in the product?
Capture the essentials in three short steps. Download your notes before leaving.
Describe an outcome, rather than a list of tools.
Cheri Kruger is the founder of Kruger Recruiting. She works directly with founders and hiring teams throughout the search, from role definition and candidate sourcing to interviews and offers.
Let’s talk About Cheri and Kruger Recruiting ↗A forward deployed engineer builds or adapts software in close contact with customers. The work often includes technical discovery, integrations, deployment, and feedback that informs the product. The exact balance depends on the company and role.
