About the Forward Deployed Engineer (Office of the CEO) role

This is a high-impact, highly autonomous builder role embedded within the Office of the CEO.

Reporting directly to the Office of the CEO, you will be the inaugural Forward Deployed Engineer, focused on critical initiatives. In this role, you will operate at the intersection of executive strategy, technical execution, and start-up building. You will work closely with the CEO and senior leadership to identify high-leverage problems across the firm, and rapidly design, build, and deploy solutions that drive measurable impact.

This is not a traditional engineering role. You are not maintaining a single system or working from a fixed roadmap. Instead, you will move across teams and problem spaces, acting as a “startup builder” inside the firm, owning problems end-to-end from discovery through production. This role is an opportunity to build a startup-like capability within Keystone, with direct exposure to executive decision-making and firm-wide impact. You will work on the highest-priority problems, see your solutions adopted quickly, and help define how modern AI and software reshape how the firm operates.

This is not an ordinary role. We are looking for an incredibly high-agency builder who is energized by a start-up culture, thrives in ambiguity, bridges the gap between strategic vision and technical reality, and fundamentally loves to learn and ship at the frontier of technology innovation.

The role will also work alongside our Keystone Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (K.AIML) team, focused on building, deploying, and scaling AI-powered tools that enhance Keystone’s impact.

Key Responsibilities

Workflow Re-Architecture & AI Deployment

• Problem Discovery & Execution: Embed with teams to understand how work gets done, identify high-leverage inefficiencies, and translate them into concrete technical solutions
• AI Integration: Design and deploy practical, production-ready applications using LLMs, RAG pipelines, and modern AI tooling
• Agentic Workflows: Build and implement AI-driven workflows that automate repetitive or time-intensive tasks, using emerging frameworks where appropriate

Internal Tools, Automation & Dashboards

• Data Integration: Work with fragmented internal and external datasets to build reliable, automated data pipelines and systems
• Dashboarding: Create real-time, decision-grade dashboards and tools for the CEO and leadership team
• Full-Stack Development: Rapidly prototype and ship internal applications (from backend logic to simple frontends) with a bias toward speed and usability
• AI-Assisted Development: Leverage modern AI-assisted development tools to move quickly while maintaining strong standards for code quality, security, and scalability

Forecasting & Prediction Algorithms

• Applied Modelling: Develop and implement forecasting or predictive models tied to real business use cases (e.g., operational bottlenecks, pipeline trends, or market dynamics)
• Analytical Problem Solving: Apply a rigorous, data-driven approach to ambiguous problems, using modern data tooling and statistical techniques
• End-to-End Ownership: Own the full lifecycle of systems you build—scoping, prototyping, validation with stakeholders, and production deployment

What You’ll Bring

Required

• Builder’s Mindset: Demonstrated track record of shipping real products, tools, or systems—not just prototypes
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in a highly technical field such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Physics, or Data Science
• Experience: ~4–6 years of professional experience in software engineering, data engineering, or a similarly fast-paced technical building role, including product management.
• Technical Skills: Strong proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript, with solid foundations in APIs, data modelling, and relational databases
• Communication: Ability to clearly explain technical concepts and trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders, including senior leadership, and rapidly navigating a matrixed organisational structure

Preferred

• AI & Data Systems: Experience building with LLMs, RAG architectures, or modern data pipelines
• Product Intuition: Strong judgment on what to build, how to prioritize, and how to iterate quickly based on user feedback
• Autonomy: Ability to operate independently, navigate ambiguity, and make pragmatic trade-offs under pressure

About The Role 

As a strategist, you are a versatile associate or consultant who will work across economics, strategy, and technology engagements. You are expected to own analytical workstreams, adapt quickly across problem types, and synthesize insights for high-stakes decision-making. 

Your education and background may lean towards one of our practice areas in Finance, Economics, Tax and Securities or Antitrust & Competition. Even though this may be the case, Keystone teams are interdisciplinary, and you will work across a wide range of problems and practice areas. During the interview process, we assess your ability to apply your core skillset to unfamiliar questions and operate effectively outside your primary area of focus. If you believe you fall under the FETS or Competition bucket, refer to the careers website and find the postings for those roles.  

Final leveling is determined by education, prior experience, and interview performance. 

Please note, this job is for candidates who have already graduated. 

Key Responsibilities

Data Analysis 

• Own end-to-end analytical workstreams, including data cleaning, exploratory analysis, model implementation, and validation.
• Apply quantitative methods using Python, R, or Stata to analyze large and complex datasets.
• Build and stress-test models to identify trends, quantify impacts, and evaluate strategic or regulatory questions. 

Research 

• Conduct structured research across economic, industry, policy, and technology domains to inform analysis and case strategy.
• Review academic literature, policy documents, technical materials, and public filings to ground analytical assumptions.
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative inputs to inform hypotheses and analytical direction. 

Report Writing 

• Translate analytical findings into clear, well-structured written narratives for internal and client-facing materials.
• Draft sections of memos, reports, and presentations that explain methodology, results, and implications.
• Create clear exhibits (tables, charts, figures) that communicate complex ideas succinctly. 

What You’ll Bring

Education & Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Econometrics, Finance, or a closely related field from a top university (target GPA 3.6+). 
• Master’s degree in Management, Analytics, Data, Statistics, or a related field a plus.
• Experience in consulting, analytics, research, or technology-driven roles preferred.
• Exposure to strategy or economic consulting, data/tech roles, or high-growth tech environments.
• Evidence of academic or leadership excellence (e.g., honors, Dean’s List, leadership roles). 

Analytical Skills 

• Strong quantitative skills; experience with Python, R, or Stata.
• Comfort working with large datasets and translating analysis into insights.
• Solid business intuition and interest in real-world problem solving. 

Communication & Mindset 

• Clear, structured communicator with strong writing and synthesis skills.
• Demonstrated ability to articulate personal strengths (“spikes”) and learning trajectory.
• Coachable, growth-oriented, and motivated to develop quickly in a demanding environment.
• Clear interest in litigation consulting, specifically Keystone.