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 (https://gizmodo.com/apple-icloud-private-relay-ad-fraud-scam-research-1849803510)
Adweek: A 7-Figure Ad Fraud Scheme Running on Roku Underlines Murkiness of CTV (https://www.adweek.com/programmatic/pixalate-ad-fraud-scheme-roku-murkiness-ctv/)
Washington Post: Your kids' apps are spying on them (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/09/apps-kids-privacy/)
Pro Publica: Porn, Piracy, Fraud: What Lurks Inside Google's Black Box Ad Empire (https://www.propublica.org/article/google-display-ads-piracy-porn-fraud)
ABC7 News: The State of Children's Privacy Online (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhFAxvs-mBY)
NBC News: How many apps are tracking your children (https://www.pixalate.com/blog/jalal-nasir-nbc-12news-apps-tracking-child)
Our team of lawyers, data scientists, engineers, economists, and researchers spans globally with presence in California, New York, Washington DC, London and Singapore.
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