Forward Development Engineer

Forward Development Engineer
Location : McLean, VA (hybrid)
Employment Type: Full-Time

About the Role

As a Forward Development Engineer at Pixalate, you will solve the "Last Mile" problem — bridging the gap between Pixalate's platform and each customer's unique business environment. You are the technical anchor of our sales team, architecting the specific configurations that allow clients to unlock the full value of our fraud detection and digital trust solutions.

Forward Development Engineers operate as a team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). You'll be assigned a specific Product Line (e.g., Data Feeds, Analytics, or Compliance) and deployed to sales calls when clients have needs in your domain. You act as the critical feedback loop between the market and Core Engineering while driving trial conversions and revenue for your product.

This role is incentivized on trial conversion and revenue. If you thrive at the intersection of technical depth and customer empathy — and you know how to turn complex technical challenges into measurable client wins — we want to hear from you.

What You'll Do

Sales Technical Partnership

• Serve as the technical authority for your assigned product on every sales call

• Validate technical feasibility, answer architectural questions, and remove blockers

• Ensure clients feel technically confident moving forward with deals

• Partner with CS to define deliverables and KPIs that support Statement of Work (SOW) development

Micro-Product Management

• Own a specific product line as its deep SME in the field

• Manage the technical roadmap for your product within each sales opportunity

• Collaborate with other Solutions Engineers when clients need multiple product integrations

• Provide "outside-in" PRD feedback to Core Engineering on missing market features

End-to-End Trial Ownership

• Own technical accountability for your product line within each account

• Work as part of the SE Integration Team to ensure complete client integration

• Remain engaged until your product is live, stable, and proving value

• Use Pixalate AI Agents and internal tools to resolve CS tickets and maintain engagement status

Last Mile Solution Architecture

• Translate client's unstructured problems into clean Pixalate configurations

• Map specific data fields and business logic to our platform

• Ensure clients are actually protected in their specific environment

• Build custom reports, feeds, and APIs tailored to each client's workflow

Use Case Definition & Delivery

• Author a specific Use Case Document for every engagement

• Define exactly how the client applies Pixalate to their business (e.g., "Filtering IVT on Mobile App Traffic")

• Establish the official "Definition of Done" for each trial

• Schedule reports for clients where IVT% > 5

Churn Risk Mitigation

• Serve as the first line of defense against churn

• Manually verify that data flowing into client dashboards matches the promised Use Case

• Ensure clients experience their "Aha!" moment — seeing specific dollar savings or risk avoided — before contract signing

Post-Integration Handoff

• Facilitate detailed technical transfer to Customer Success after contract signing

• Document custom configurations and Use Cases for ongoing support

• Transfer a fully functioning, documented integration to CS post-signature

Required Qualifications

AdTech Domain Experience - Required

• Direct, hands-on experience in the digital advertising ecosystem is required for this role

• Candidates must be able to demonstrate working knowledge of programmatic advertising, DSPs, SSPs, Ad Servers, CTV, and/or IVT/ad fraud concepts

• Experience at an adtech company, DSP, SSP, publisher, ad verification platform, or measurement company is strongly preferred

Technical Foundation

• Strong understanding of data integration, APIs, and system architecture

• Experience translating business requirements into technical configurations

• Background in solutions engineering, technical account management, pre-sales engineering, or implementation consulting

Communication & Collaboration

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for client-facing interactions

• Ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders

• Experience working cross-functionally with Sales, Engineering, and Product teams

Problem Solving

• Proven ability to diagnose and resolve complex integration challenges

• Track record of creative problem-solving in ambiguous technical environments

• Strong documentation and process definition skills

Other Requirements

• Willingness to accommodate early morning or late evening calls to align with global teams across US, EMEA, and APAC time zones

• Ability to manage high-volume, multi-client engagements simultaneously

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with CTV, mobile app analytics, or data feed integrations

• Experience with trial management and customer success metrics

• Familiarity with ad fraud detection platforms, brand safety tools, or supply path optimization

• AI coding tools experience a plus — deep coding ability is not required

Benefits

Health & Wellbeing

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance — 100% of employee premiums covered by Pixalate, 50% for dependents
• Generous parental leave and maternity leave
• Unlimited PTO

Financial

• 401(k)
• Employee referral bonus program
• Monthly internet reimbursement

Work Style

• Remote-first — work from the DC or NY metro area
• Casual, flexible work environment
• Annual team events
• Clear path to sales leadership as Pixalate’s team grows
• International and Domestic Travel

About Pixalate

Pixalate offers the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV), Mobile Apps, and Websites.

Our platform has been used to unearth multiple high-profile criminal and illegal surveillance cases, including:

• Gizmodo: An iCloud Feature Is Enabling a $65 Million Scam, New Research Says
• Adweek: A 7-Figure Ad Fraud Scheme Running on Roku Underlines Murkiness of CTV
• Washington Post: Your kids’ apps are spying on them
• Pro Publica: Porn, Piracy, Fraud: What Lurks Inside Google’s Black Box Ad Empire
• ABC7 News: The State of Children's Privacy Online
• NBC News: How many apps are tracking your children

Our team of lawyers, data scientists, engineers, economists, and researchers spans globally with presence in California, New York, Washington DC, London and Singapore.