The Forward Deployed Product Manager is a key member of the Gauss Labs team, embedded directly with our partners and customers across the full engagement lifecycle—leading proof-of-concept (POC) engagements end to end, defining the real-world data and process problems worth solving, translating them into AI products that scale, and driving their adoption, operation, and ongoing maintenance in production. The first and most important charter is to lead our collaboration with a leading semiconductor equipment partner—defining where our AI can create the most value in customer workflows—while broadening our footprint across integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and foundries. The Forward Deployed PM brings a product mindset, proactively solving customers' future problems, and serves as the team lead for Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs), while working closely with AI Scientists, Data Scientists, Software Engineers, and Product Managers located in Palo Alto, California, USA, and Seoul, South Korea.
Responsibilities
Own and lead our top-priority engagement with a leading semiconductor equipment partner—learning their workflows in depth, identifying high-value AI opportunities, and driving them from concept to deployed solution
Extend our customer footprint across IDMs and foundries, tailoring AI solutions to each customer's fab environment, process steps, and data realities
Run customer POCs end to end—from initial scoping through on-site validation and into contract; define success criteria, manage scope/timelines, and prove measurable value on-site
Drive production rollout and adoption after a successful POC—own the transition from pilot to production, define adoption metrics, and ensure customer engineers integrate and rely on the solution in daily workflows
Work side by side with customer engineers/process owners to uncover bottlenecks in their data & manufacturing flow, and translate them into scalable product requirements
Lead a small team of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs)—set priorities, remove blockers, keep delivery anchored to customer value—while feeding field insights (edge cases, gaps) back into the core product roadmap and supporting business development for contract expansion
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, data science, statistics, physics, mathematics, industrial engineering, operations research, or another quantitative or technical discipline
7+ years’ experience in product management and/or solutions/deployment/customer-facing technical roles, including 3+ years owning products end-to-end and leading cross-functional teams.
Demonstrated product mindset, with a track record of anticipating customer needs and shaping solutions that create value beyond the immediate ask
Proven ability to drive end-to-end execution of complex engagements despite ambiguity and obstacles
Strong stakeholder management and communication skills across both technical and business audiences
Willingness to be forward deployed, spending significant time on-site at customer fabs and equipment partners, including international travel
Fluency in verbal and written English
Preferred Qualifications
Direct experience in the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem—across IDMs, foundries, equipment makers, or adjacent process domains
Familiarity with metrology, process control, yield, defect inspection, or equipment data, and with applying AI/ML to industrial or manufacturing data
Experience in a forward-deployed, deployment-strategist, or solutions-architect model at an AI or enterprise software company
Experience converting POCs into commercial contracts and scaling bespoke solutions into productized offerings
Korean proficiency given our customer and team footprint
[Interview Process]
Application review - Phone interview - Virtual onsite interview - VP interview/Core Value interview - CEO interview