About the role

HeyGen is building the AI video platform that Fortune 500 enterprises run their content operations on. Our strategic customers are not looking for another SaaS tool. They want production AI systems that plug into their LMS, their CRM, their HR stack, and their brand controls, and that their employees and end-users actually use every day. Closing the gap between what our APIs can do and what each enterprise needs them to do is the job.

We're hiring our first Forward Deployed Engineers to own that gap.

As a Forward Deployed Engineer on Strategic Accounts, you'll embed with our most technically complex enterprise customers and ship production AI video systems alongside their engineering teams. You'll own the last mile of delivery: discovery, technical scoping, architecture, build, rollout, and the eval-driven feedback loop back into HeyGen's product and model roadmap.

You'll operate autonomously, partner directly with customer engineering leaders and VPs, and represent HeyGen at the technical frontier. Typical questions you'll help answer look like:

• "How do we let 40,000 customer service reps generate branded training videos in twelve languages without going through our marketing team?"
• "How do we embed a live avatar into our product onboarding flow so every new user gets a conversational walkthrough in under 20 milliseconds of latency?"
• "How do we make HeyGen safe to deploy across a regulated pharma's field medical team with full avatar consent, audit logging, and subprocessor controls?"

You'll work side by side with our Product, Engineering, Sales, and Customer Success teams. Your field insights will directly influence what HeyGen ships next.

San Francisco or Los Angeles. Hybrid. Expect 25–40% travel to customer sites.

What you'll do

• Own end-to-end enterprise deployments. Lead technical discovery, architecture, and production rollout for our most complex strategic accounts. Integrate HeyGen cleanly into customer CRM, LMS, HR, and marketing stacks.
• Build on the HeyGen API and LiveAvatar. Ship real-time conversational agents, session-based lifecycles, and WebRTC integrations inside client applications. Produce reusable reference implementations, SDK wrappers, webhook integrations, and eval harnesses that later get pulled back into the platform.
• Run the hard escalations. Act as the senior technical owner on production-blocking issues. Advocate for the customers’ technical needs on streaming, latency, and integration failures, and coordinate cross-functional fixes with engineering.
• Close the product feedback loop. Translate messy real-world requirements into structured product input. Identify patterns across custom builds that should be generalized into the platform, and partner with core engineering to productize them.
• Be a trusted technical voice for customers. Explain model behavior, performance trade-offs, and roadmap to non-technical executives and to customer engineering teams in equal measure.

What success looks like

In your first year, we'll measure your impact on time to production for strategic accounts, expansion revenue driven by the accounts you own, the number of reusable patterns you contribute back to the platform, and the quality of the eval and feedback signal you send into our product organization.

What we're looking for

• 3+ years in software engineering, solutions architecture, or a similar builder role. You're comfortable shipping production-grade code in Python and JavaScript/Node.js.
• Hands-on experience building with LLMs or other generative AI systems in production, including familiarity with prompt engineering, agent development, and evaluation frameworks. You understand how model behavior affects product experience.
• Working knowledge of API design, webhooks, and cloud infrastructure.
• The ability to move fluidly between a customer engineering standup and a VP-level business conversation, and to explain technical trade-offs to both audiences without losing either.
• High agency under ambiguity. You're energized by building a function that doesn't exist yet rather than joining one that does.

Nice to have

• WebRTC, real-time media, or low-latency streaming experience.
• Experience at an FDE, solutions engineering, or post-sales engineering org at a frontier AI or enterprise SaaS company.
• Experience as a technical founder or early engineer at a startup. We especially want to hear from you.

A note on fit

If you don't check every box above but you're excited about building the forward-deployed function at an AI-first company, please apply. We care more about trajectory and taste than a clean line-by-line match.

Salary Range:

$175,000 – $225,000 annual base salary

Total compensation includes cash compensation, equity, and benefits.

Please note that the salary information is a general guideline only.  HeyGen considers factors such as scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, and internal equity, as well as location, market and business considerations when extending an offer.  As part of our total rewards package, HeyGen offers comprehensive benefits including a 401k plan, health benefits, generous PTO, a parental leave program and emotional health resources.

HeyGen is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Join us at HeyGen and be part of a team that's making visual storytelling accessible to all!

Position Summary

As a Backend Engineer at HeyGen, you'll be at the forefront of building the core systems and infrastructure that power our products and services. Your expertise will drive the development and optimization of scalable, reliable, and efficient backend systems that cater to our growing user base.

Key Responsibilities

• System Development: Design, develop, and deploy scalable and efficient backend systems.
• API Development: Create and maintain robust and secure RESTful APIs to serve front-end applications and third-party integrations.
• Database Management: Design and manage database schemas, ensure efficient data storage, and optimize queries for maximum performance.
• Collaboration: Work closely with frontend developers, product managers, and designers to deliver feature-rich products.
• Performance Monitoring: Monitor backend systems for performance, errors, and anomalies. Implement fixes and improvements as needed.
• Code Quality: Maintain high code quality through regular code reviews, pair programming, and writing unit and integration tests.
• Continuous Learning: Stay updated with the latest backend technologies and best practices to ensure HeyGen remains at the forefront of technology.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 4+ years of experience in backend development.
• Proficiency in python, golang, c++ or java.
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases, such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Strong knowledge of API design and development.
• Knowledge of best practices in security and data protection.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with container orchestration tools like Kubernetes.
• Experience with Graphics API like OpenGL, Vulkan, etc.
• Experience with Streaming protocol like WebRTC.
• Experience with Machine Learning Infrastructure especailly computer vision.
• Familiarity with microservices architecture.
• Prior experience in a startup or fast-paced tech environment.

What HeyGen Offers

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Dynamic and inclusive work environment.
• Opportunities for professional growth and advancement.
• Collaborative culture that values innovation and creativity.
• Access to the latest technologies and tools.

Salary Range
$170,000 – 220,000 annually
Please note that the salary information is a general guideline only.  HeyGen considers factors such as scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, and internal equity, as well as location, market and business considerations when extending an offer.  As part of our total rewards package, HeyGen offers comprehensive benefits including a 401k plan, health benefits, generous PTO, a parental leave program and emotional health resources.

HeyGen is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.