Forward Deployed Engineer
Location: Pickering, Ontario
Employment Type: Full-Time — In office
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President
Number of Positions Available: 1
Size of Organization: 450 employees
Rapid City Transportation is undergoing the most significant transformation in its history: rebuilding our core operating platform on Palantir Foundry, embedding AI into how we move hundreds of thousands of people a year, and setting out to become a truly AI-native company. We are looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to be at the centre of it.
This is a builder’s role. Today our Foundry platform is being developed with an external partner. Your mission is to take ownership of that platform and bring it fully in-house — mastering it, extending it, and running it as our own — while helping reimagine how the entire organization operates with AI at its core.
Forward-deployed means exactly that: you don’t sit apart from the business writing tickets, you sit inside it, solving real problems in production. You will embed directly with the people who use our systems every day — dispatch, customer service, operations, and finance — learn how the business actually works, automate manual workflows, and build the data and AI foundations for how we make decisions. Over time, you will build and lead the small in-house team that sustains it.
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Take ownership of our Palantir Foundry platform from our external development partner — understand it deeply, extend it, and operate it in-house.
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Build and ship end-to-end solutions on Foundry: ontology, data pipelines, automations, and AI-driven workflows (starting with automated intake and, later, dispatch and routing).
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Design, build, and maintain our driver-facing dispatch and routing application — the app that sends trips to drivers — as we bring routing in-house. Strong application-development capability is essential.
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Embed with front-line teams (dispatch, customer service, operations, finance) to find the highest-value problems and solve them in live production.
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Help drive the company’s broader goal of becoming AI-native: identifying where AI can transform operations and building the systems to make it real.
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Integrate our systems and data sources — telematics, billing, customer and trip data — into a single, reliable platform.
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Define and track the metrics that prove impact: automation rate, efficiency gains, and operational outcomes.
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Maintain clear technical documentation and sound engineering practices aligned with our ISO 9001 quality system and IT governance.
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As the platform matures, build, mentor, and lead a small in-house engineering/IT team — setting technical direction and standards.
Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field; 2+ years in software engineering, solutions/forward-deployed engineering, or a similar hands-on technical role. Strong builders with less tenure but the right capability are encouraged to apply.
Core Engineering: Hands-on software engineering with Python, APIs, and cloud environments (Azure or AWS); comfortable building, shipping, and debugging in production.
Application Development: Demonstrated experience building and shipping real applications, including mobile or web apps used by non-technical users in the field (e.g., a driver- or operator-facing app). You will own our driver dispatch/routing application.
Foundry / Data Platforms: Experience with Palantir Foundry is strongly preferred. Equivalent experience with modern data ecosystems — data pipelines, ontologies/data models, and analytics platforms — will also be considered.
AI & Automation: Demonstrated ability to apply AI/ML and automation to real business problems and ship results, not just prototypes; genuine excitement about building an AI-native organization.
Forward-Deployed Mindset: Thrives embedded with non-technical users; learns a business fast and translates messy real-world operations into working software.
Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, including resolving issues in live production environments.
Communication & Collaboration: Excellent communicator who can work directly with senior leadership and front-line staff alike.
Leadership (grows into the role): Interest in and ability to build and lead a small technical team over time; understanding of IT governance, documentation, and compliance practices.
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Own the AI transformation of a company targeting $100M in revenue by 2029 — and help lead its journey to becoming a truly AI-native organization.
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Build a platform, a driver-facing application, and an in-house engineering function from the ground up, rather than maintaining someone else’s.
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Work directly with the CEO and senior leadership on one of the company’s top strategic priorities.
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A collaborative, innovative, forward-thinking environment that is serious about being AI-native.
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Competitive compensation package, including a salary range of $100,000.00 – $140,000.00 CAD, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications.
Our hiring process is designed to ensure the best fit for both you and our team. Candidates can expect to participate in multiple interview stages, including initial screening, competency-based discussions, and final conversations with leadership. This thorough approach helps us understand your skills, experience, and alignment with our values.
Please submit your application online through rapidcitytransportation.com – Careers. Thank you to all who apply; however only candidates selected for interview will be contacted.
We adhere to the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) to ensure fair treatment for every candidate. We are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable, and accessible environment for all applicants. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities, including those with disabilities. If you require accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, please inform us through your application and we will work with you to meet your needs.
Privacy Notice: We collect personal information from applicants only for recruitment purposes, in compliance with PIPEDA. By applying, you consent to the collection, use, and limited disclosure of your information for evaluating your candidacy. Your data will be safeguarded and retained only as long as necessary. For questions or to withdraw consent, please note this in your application.
