Staff Forward Deployed Engineer

Stacklok is led by CEO Craig McLuckie and CTO Joe Beda , two of the creators of Kubernetes. As AI reshapes how software is built and used, we're building the foundation enterprises need to adopt it with confidence. We're building the control plane for enterprise AI agents, enabling organizations to run, govern, and secure them on the infrastructure they already trust. Through Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers running across Kubernetes and private cloud environments, AI agents can securely connect to internal data and systems while meeting the security, compliance, and operational requirements of highly regulated and security-conscious organizations. We've also extended this foundation to the model layer with an enterprise AI gateway. The Stacklok Enterprise Platform is built on ToolHive , our open source MCP platform, and is already being adopted by leading technology companies and organizations in regulated industries. We also help maintain the official MCP registry and contribute openly to the community shaping the future of enterprise AI. Location This is a remote role based in Singapore. Candidates must live and work in Singapore and be legally authorized to work in Singapore. The Opportunity As a Staff Forward Deployed Engineer for Stacklok, you will serve as the technical lead for APAC and help build the region. This is hands-on work in the field: embedding with enterprise customers, taking them from first evaluation to production deployment, and answering the toughest technical questions that emerge along the way. As demand across APAC accelerates, you will own how Stacklok lands with every customer in the region. Beyond customer engagements, the role helps shape technical direction across APAC, establish deployment patterns the broader organization builds on, and mentor engineers across the team. Field experience feeds directly into design reviews and roadmap discussions, ensuring customer realities help drive product and engineering decisions. The technical depth is substantial. The work spans complex Kubernetes deployments and the operational constraints of large enterprise environments, solving the problems that determine whether AI initiatives successfully reach production. It is an opportunity to shape how AI reaches production across some of the most demanding organizations in the region. What Success Looks Like: First 6-12 Months Onboarded quickly and led live APAC engagements within the first 90 days, becoming the senior technical leader that customers and the field team rely on across the region. Took a Design Partner or enterprise customer from first evaluation to a working production deployment, clearing the hardest Kubernetes and platform blockers along the way. Stood up the in-region engagement model from scratch: the runbooks, escalation paths, and deployment standards that every APAC engagement now follows. Raised the technical bar across the region, lifting the engineers around them and turning field learnings into a reusable, AI-assisted playbook the whole team adopted. Surfaced APAC field insight, from region-specific regulatory needs to recurring customer requirements, that shaped a product or roadmap decision. In This Role, You Will Lead forward deployed engagements across APAC end to end, from scoping each customer's technical goals and deployment approach through to a working production deployment. Own the region's technical calls as the in-region anchor and escalation point for the hardest platform and Kubernetes problems customers raise. Design and deliver changes to how the platform deploys to Kubernetes, unblocking enterprise adoption and contributing those changes back upstream. Define the reusable reference architectures and deployment patterns that engagements across the region and the wider team build on. Set the technical bar for APAC, mentoring engineers through design reviews and pairing and serving as the technical gate for what good looks like in hiring. Own how forward deployed wo