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Forward Deployed Engineer, Agentic Platform (West Coast)

cohere

Remoto San Francisco
Web Master

Job Score

100 pts
Remote model (+90) Web Master (+10)

Who are we?

Cohere is the leading security-first enterprise AI company. We build cutting-edge foundation AI models and end-to-end products that are designed to solve real-world business problems.

We’re training and deploying frontier models for enterprises who are building AI systems. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI and we are looking for folks that want to be part of that.

We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are all passionate about their craft.

We are a global technology company co-headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, with key offices in London, New York City, Montreal, Seoul, Germany and Paris. Join us!


About North:

North is Cohere's cutting-edge AI workspace platform, designed to revolutionize the way enterprises utilize AI. It offers a secure and customizable environment, allowing companies to deploy AI while maintaining control over sensitive data. North integrates seamlessly with existing workflows, providing a trusted platform that connects AI agents with workplace tools and applications.


Why this role?

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape how enterprises harness the power of AI in real-world applications. As a bridge between our core North product and our clients’ engineering teams, you’ll be at the forefront of solving complex problems and securely integrating AI into critical sectors such as finance, healthcare, and telecommunications.

We’re looking for Software Engineers with Applied AI experience who can own the design, build, and deployment of agentic workflows powered by Large Language Models (LLMs), from early prototypes to production-grade AI agents, to deliver concrete business value in enterprise workflows. You’ll work closely with customers on real-world business problems, often building first-of-their-kind agent workflows that integrate LLMs with tools, APIs, and data sources. While our pace is startup-fast, the bar is enterprise-high: agents must be reliable, observable, safe, and auditable from day one.

Note: between 20 - 40% travel anticipated.


In this role, you will:

  • Work closely with our enterprise customers to translate high-value, ambiguous business problems into well-framed agentic workflows with clear success criteria and evaluation methodologies

  • Lead the design, build, and delivery of LLM-powered agents that reason, plan, and act across tools, APIs, and sensitive enterprise data sources, with enterprise-grade reliability and performance

  • Build and ship features for North, our AI workspace platform, working across the full product lifecycle from conceptualisation through production

  • Take ownership of scoping and shaping use cases end-to-end, flexing into whatever technical area the problem demands (including frontend) to drive the most effective solution

  • Contribute to shared frameworks and patterns that enable consistent, high-quality delivery across customers and teams

  • Drive clarity in ambiguous situations, build alignment, and raise engineering quality across the organization

  • Travel up to 20–40% to work on-site with customers and partners


You may be a good fit if:

  • You have hands-on experience building and deploying production-grade software in Python; you write clean, testable, observable, scalable code

  • You've built and deployed highly performant RAG and agentic applications, including agents that plan and execute multi-step tasks using patterns like ReAct or Plan-and-Execute

  • You're deeply familiar with the LLM stack: frontier models, vector databases, and orchestration frameworks

  • You have a proven ability to build robust evaluation frameworks, moving well beyond trial and error, to measure agent accuracy, safety, and latency

  • You’re experienced working directly with customers and can lead technical discussions with enterprise stakeholders, translating ambiguous business needs into concrete technical specs

  • You have experience owning the full scope of a use case end-to-end

  • You thrive in fast-paced and ambiguous environments and can execute well even when priorities are shifting


It's a bonus if you have:

  • Experience setting architectural standards for AI and agentic systems across distributed teams

  • Experience flexing into unfamiliar technical areas, such as frontend, when the problem calls for it

  • Exposure to regulated or sensitive industry environments (finance, healthcare, telecoms)

  • Experience with enterprise security, compliance, or auditability requirements for AI systems

Full-Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks:

  • A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency for lunch.

  • Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health.

  • RRSP matching, 401K, Pension Scheme.

  • 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months, for either parent.

  • Annual enrichment benefits:

    Arts & culture, fitness/wellness, quality time, and a workspace improvement credit.

    Education & learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.

  • 6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days!)

  • Budget for traveling to other offices if you are remote, plus an annual company offsite.

How and Where We Work:

  • Cohere is remote-friendly, but we also have offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York City, London, Paris, Montreal, Seoul with more opening soon.

  • For those in the office: a daily lunch program, plenty of snacks, and regular community and social events.

  • For those not near an office: a co-working benefit so you can work alongside others in your city.

  • Everyone receives a $500 home office stipend to set up your workspace properly.

If any of the above doesn’t line up exactly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply.


We strive to create an inclusive work environment for all; we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form, and we will work together to meet your needs.

We may use AI-enabled tools to screen and assess applicants against the criteria for this position. This helps our recruiters identify potentially qualified candidates, but it doesn't limit the applications our recruiters may review or consider.

Beware of Scams: Cohere will never ask for payment or third-party services (e.g., CV writing) as part of our hiring process. All legitimate roles are listed on the Cohere careers page and LinkedIn only, with all communications from Cohere employees coming from an @cohere.com or @cw.cohere email alias. If jobs are viewed on other sites then please verify these through our official careers page.

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About Web Master

The Web Master is the professional responsible for maintaining, securing, and ensuring the technical performance of websites and web applications. They manage servers, hosting infrastructure, uptime monitoring, and ensure everything runs fast and reliably.

Key skills include server management (Apache, Nginx), hosting (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure), CDN (Cloudflare), SSL, DNS, web security (WAF, firewall), performance (Core Web Vitals, cache, compression), and versioning (Git, CI/CD). Knowledge of Docker, WordPress, cPanel, and monitoring (Sentry, New Relic) is a differentiator.

Web Masters in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master DevOps, SRE, and can guarantee uptime and performance at scale. The field offers opportunities from junior webmaster to SRE and infrastructure engineer, with a focus on reliability, security, and speed.

Discover Other Areas

Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.

About Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is a constantly expanding field, driven by e-commerce growth and the need for a strong digital presence. Marketing professionals master tools like Google Ads, Meta Ads, HubSpot, Google Analytics, and automation platforms.

Most sought-after specializations include Growth Marketing, Performance, SEO, Content Marketing, and Growth Hacking. The combination of creativity with data analysis is the most valued differentiator in the market.

The market offers opportunities in both agencies and technology companies, with competitive salaries and remote work possibilities.

About QA and Testing

QA and Software Testing are fundamental to ensure the quality and reliability of applications. QA professionals ensure that the delivered product meets requirements and is free of critical defects.

Key skills include manual and automated testing, Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Postman, JMeter, and CI/CD pipeline knowledge. Performance and security testing are differentiators.

With the adoption of DevOps and continuous deployment, the demand for automation QAs and SDETs continues to grow.

About Office Suite

Proficiency in Office Suite is an essential skill for professionals across various areas. Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook are fundamental tools in the corporate day-to-day, while Google Workspace and other collaborative solutions are gaining increasing space.

Key skills include advanced Excel (formulas, pivot tables, Power Query, VBA/Macros), Word (formatting, mail merge, styles), PowerPoint (presentation design, animations), Outlook (email and calendar management), and collaborative tools like Google Sheets, Notion, and Airtable.

Professionals with advanced Office Suite proficiency are valued in administrative, financial, data, and operational areas. Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications are important differentiators. The combination of advanced Excel with data analysis skills is one of the most in-demand competencies in the market.

About Backend

The Backend area is responsible for all server logic, APIs, databases, and infrastructure that support web and mobile applications. Backend professionals ensure that systems are scalable, secure, and performant.

Key skills include languages like PHP, Java, Python, Ruby, Go, and Node.js, frameworks like Laravel, Spring Boot, Django, and Express, databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis), software architecture (clean architecture, DDD, microservices), and API security (OAuth, JWT).

Backend developers in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master microservices architecture, cloud computing, and high-scale performance. The field offers opportunities from junior developer to software architect, with a focus on scalability, security, and efficiency.

About Public Relations

The Public Relations (PR) area focuses on managing the reputation, image, and communication of an organization with its various stakeholders (such as clients, investors, employees, media, and the community). PR professionals develop corporate communication strategies, manage media relations (press relations), organize institutional events, and work in image crisis prevention and management.

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Tech & Remote Glossary

Stop getting lost in interviews and job descriptions

The job market, especially within tech and global companies, has developed its own dialect. Not understanding these acronyms can make you lose valuable opportunities or poorly negotiate your contract. To end this problem, we created the Definitive Glossary for the Remote Professional.

🏢 Work Models & Routine

Async (Asynchronous Work)
A communication model where responses don't need to be immediate. Instead of back-to-back meetings, the team relies on well-structured documents, threads, and messages. It's the gold standard for global companies spanning multiple time zones.
Sync (Synchronous Work)
The opposite of Async. It requires the team to be online and available at the same time for meetings, live chats, and real-time collaboration.
Daily / Stand-up
A quick daily meeting (usually 15 minutes) common in Agile (Scrum) methodologies. The team answers three questions: What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Are there any blockers?
All-Hands / Town Hall
A company-wide meeting involving all employees. Usually led by the founders (C-Levels) to present results, new goals, and answer team questions.
1:1 (One-on-One)
A recurring individual meeting between a professional and their direct manager. It is used for career alignment, feedback, and problem-solving, not just for project status updates.

💰 Contracts, Benefits & Compensation

PTO (Paid Time Off)
Instead of strict, categorized leave policies, modern US companies usually offer a flexible pool of days (e.g., 20 days of PTO, or even "Unlimited PTO") that you can use for vacations, sick days, or personal matters, while receiving your regular compensation.
Equity / Stock Options
Company ownership. The startup offers you the right to buy shares at a heavily discounted strike price in the future. If the company grows, goes public, or is acquired, these shares can be highly lucrative.
Vesting (Vesting Schedule)
The rule that controls your Equity. It usually lasts 4 years. You don't get all the shares on day one; you "earn" them gradually as you stay with the company. A "1-year Cliff" means you must stay for at least one year to receive your first batch of shares.
RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)
Unlike Stock Options (where you have the right to buy the stock), RSUs are actual shares the company grants you as a bonus or part of your compensation package, following a strict Vesting schedule.
Independent Contractor (1099 / B2B)
The most common international hiring model for global talent working for US companies. You act as a service provider (business-to-business), receiving the gross salary (often six-figure compensation) without standard local payroll tax deductions at the source.

🤖 Recruitment & Hiring Process

ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
The "robot" that reads your resume. Software like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday are used to filter candidates by keywords before a human even looks at the document. (Pro tip: this is why your resume must be clean, semantic, and have the right keywords).
JD (Job Description)
The document that lists the responsibilities, technical requirements, and benefits of the open position.
Cultural Fit
The interview stage that evaluates if your core values, communication style, and worldview align with the company's culture. This is the ultimate test of your Soft Skills.
Onboarding
The integration process. It's the period of your first few weeks at the company, where you get your access credentials, learn about the culture, study the internal documentation, and understand how the product works.

🚀 How to use this to your advantage?

The secret isn't just knowing what these acronyms mean, but using them actively. If during an interview for a premium tech role you ask, "How does your PTO policy and Vesting schedule work?", the recruiter will immediately perceive you as a high-level professional, familiar with the global market standards.

The remote job market requires preparation. And having the right vocabulary is the first big step to securing six-figure proposals and standing out among thousands of applicants.

Expert Tip

The Back-End Development Market

The Back-End Development Market: Barriers, Opportunities, and the Path to the Top

Behind every brilliant application, revolutionary artificial intelligence, or successful fintech, there is an invisible and robust ecosystem. Welcome to the Back-End universe.

The Modern Back-End Paradox: Did AI Steal the Jobs?

With the rise of tools like GitHub Copilot and Cursor, many junior developers wonder if the Back-End career is threatened. The short answer is: no. In fact, it has evolved.

Artificial Intelligence has made writing basic "CRUD" (Create, Read, Update, Delete) code trivial. However, the market no longer pays six-figure salaries for writing repetitive code. The global market is actively hunting for Software Engineers—professionals who understand architecture, resilience, latency, and scalability. The Back-End didn't die; the bar was simply raised.

Barriers to Entry: What Separates Juniors from Seniors

Entering Back-End development today requires overcoming technical barriers that go far beyond mastering a programming language (like Java, C#, Go, or Python). Key barriers include:

  • System Design: Knowing how to design a system that supports 100 users is easy. Designing one that handles 1 million requests per second requires deep knowledge of load balancing, caching (Redis/Memcached), and message queues (RabbitMQ/Kafka).
  • Data Complexity: The debate is no longer just "SQL vs. NoSQL". It is about data modeling, replication, sharding, and how to avoid database bottlenecks in distributed systems.
  • Security: With data breaches costing millions, companies require developers to master security practices from day one. Not knowing the vulnerabilities listed by the OWASP Top 10 is a dealbreaker for premium remote roles.
  • DevOps and Cloud Culture: The modern Back-End developer must understand containerization (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes), and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure).

Golden Opportunities: Where is the Money?

For those who overcome these barriers, the market is a blue ocean of opportunities, especially for US/Global Remote work.

  • Migration to Microservices and Serverless: Corporate giants continue to dismantle legacy monoliths. Professionals who understand the patterns described by Martin Fowler are highly sought after.
  • High-Performance Languages: While traditional languages maintain their corporate strength, the use of Go (Golang) and Rust has skyrocketed for systems requiring massive concurrency and low memory footprint (Green Computing).
  • AI Infrastructure: AI models don't run in a vacuum. There is a massive demand for Back-End engineers proficient in Python and C++ to build data pipelines (MLOps) and the APIs that serve these models in real time.

Success Stories: Architectural Decisions That Changed the Game

True Back-End engineering shines when solving impossible problems. Let's look at real-market examples:

The Discord Case (Migration to Rust): Discord faced latency spikes in its core Read States service, originally written in Go. Because Go's Garbage Collector caused critical millisecond freezes, the team rewrote the service in Rust, completely eliminating latency spikes and supporting trillions of messages with absurd efficiency. This proved the value of choosing the right tool for performance limits.

The Netflix Case (Pioneering Microservices): Netflix transformed a monolithic system that broke under pressure into an architecture of thousands of independently managed microservices. They pioneered the concept of Chaos Engineering, purposely shutting down production servers to ensure their Back-End was resilient to failure.

Practical Tips: How to Land Premium Global Jobs

  1. Master the Fundamentals: Before learning the trendy framework of the month, study data structures, algorithms, and time complexity (Big-O Notation). This is exactly what will be tested in high-level technical interviews (Whiteboard interviews).
  2. Build a Problem-Focused Portfolio: A GitHub repository with a "To-Do List" won't impress anyone. Build an API that handles asynchronous image processing, create a scalable URL shortener, or engineer a messaging system using WebSockets and Redis.
  3. Study Real Cloud Architecture: Get solutions-based certifications (like AWS Certified Developer or Solutions Architect). These serve as a "Seal of Approval" to bypass strict Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) like Greenhouse or Ashby.
  4. Flawless Technical Communication: According to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey, the highest-paying roles require asynchronous global collaboration. Your code documentation, commit messages, and PR reviews must be pristine and professional.

Verdict: Is a Career in Back-End Worth It?

Absolutely. If you are an analytical person who loves solving complex puzzles and cares about the security and efficiency of things no one sees, the Back-End is your place.

It is a career virtually immune to visual fads. While Front-End libraries change every few years, the fundamentals of relational databases, networks, and operating systems remain the same. It is a rock-solid foundation for a highly lucrative and globalized career.