CollectWise — Forward Deployed Engineer

Type: Full-time | On-site (4 days/week) | New York City, NY Compensation: $240,000–$300,000 + 0%–1% equity Hiring count: 2 Visa sponsorship: No general sponsorship; open to Canadian candidates requiring sponsorship (TN-eligible). Confirmed by David. Reports to: Founder (no name / LinkedIn in source)

About CollectWise

CollectWise is a Y Combinator–backed startup using generative AI to automate consumer debt collection, a $35B market in the US alone. Their AI agents already outperform human collectors by 2X at a fraction of the cost, automating asset research, pre-legal outreach, litigation, credit reporting, and enforcement actions such as garnishments and liens. With a team of three, they scaled to $1M ARR in a few months, closed a $4M round extension at a $60M valuation, and are now at $2M ARR in under a year — hiring to reach $10M ARR within the next year.

Founded: 2024 | Team size: 1–10 (Seed; ~3 core) | Funding: $4M round extension at a $60M valuation (YC-backed) Industry: AI Tools Website: collectwise.com Office: New York City, NY

Why Candidates Should Join

• High ownership: Own customer implementations end-to-end, working directly with the founder and clients in a highly visible role.
• Momentum: YC-backed, $2M ARR in under a year at a $60M valuation, with a clear mandate to drive toward $10M ARR.
• Real impact: AI agents already beat human collectors 2X in a $35B market — your work ships to live customers and drives revenue immediately.

Intake Call Summary

• Not available in source. An intake video is present on the role page, but no transcript or written summary was included in the pasted HTML. Do not fabricate — pull from the video if David wants this section populated.

The Role

A Forward-Deployed Engineer leading end-to-end customer implementations, working at the intersection of engineering and operations — building the integrations and technical systems that bring clients into production. Blends software engineering with hands-on customer work; suited to someone who enjoys ambiguity, ships quickly, and translates business requirements into robust, testable systems.

What You'll Be Doing

• Build and maintain custom integrations with client systems
• Configure and productionize AI agents for each client (prompts, workflows, data transfers)
• Develop and implement client solutions using modern back-end frameworks
• Translate vague customer requirements into clear technical specs and ship solutions quickly
• Build internal tools to make implementations faster and more repeatable

Tech stack: Full-stack JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.js, React.js, AWS, SQL, LLMs (GPT-5 or other)

Requirements

• Strong engineering background in full stack JavaScript/TypeScript
• Shipped real production products at early-stage startup OR built meaningful side projects/started own company
• Strong communication skills
• Native English speaker (US/Canada)
• Prompt engineering experience

Green Flags

• Experience with Node.js, React.js, AWS, SQL, and GPT-5 or other LLMs
• Top 40-50 university graduate
• Background in investment banking or consulting transitioning to engineering
• Internships or experience at well-known tech companies
• Built end-to-end projects
• Early-stage startup experience

Red Flags

• Job hopping (short stints)
• No production experience
• Poor communication skills
• Not willing to be scrappy/grind

Role Details

• Salary — $240,000–$300,000
• Equity — 0%–1%
• On-site policy — In-office 4 days/week, flexible in-person schedule; most of the team works ~9–6 in the office
• Visa sponsorship — No general sponsorship; open to Canadian candidates requiring sponsorship (TN-eligible)
• Employment type — Full-time
• Location — New York City, NY

Screening Questions

• Not present in source. No screening-questions section was included in the pasted HTML. Do not fabricate.

Interview Process

Stage 1 — Pending Approval — Candidates awaiting initial approval. Stage 2 — Initial Call — Initial screening call with founder. Stage 3 — Backlog — (No description provided in source.) Stage 4 — Take-Home Assignment — 2-hour take-home assignment specifically geared toward the forward-deployed role. Stage 5 — Technical Interview — Live technical interview on Zoom covering practical JavaScript/TypeScript, building exercises, and discussion of the take-home implementation. Stage 6 — Offer Extended Stage 7 — Candidate Hired — Candidate accepts and starts.

Ideal Companies & Backgrounds

Ideal Companies — Palantir Technologies, Sierra, Retell AI

Ideal Candidate Profiles

Section is labeled "Ideal Candidates — DO NOT CONTACT" on the role page. These are reference profiles that must NOT be sourced or contacted. Kanishk Dutta — LinkedIn (URL not captured in pasted HTML) Matthew Cunningham — LinkedIn (URL not captured in pasted HTML)

Rejected Candidate Feedback

• Not present in source. No rejected-candidate feedback section was included in the pasted HTML.

Visa Sponsorship — Resolved

The structured Job Details field read "None Available," but the role body and outreach both stated it is open to Canadian candidates requiring sponsorship. Confirmed position (per David): no broad/US work-visa sponsorship (no H-1B, etc.), but Canadian citizens are explicitly welcome — TN-eligible for the NYC office, consistent with the "Native English speaker (US/Canada)" requirement. Work-authorization screening: US citizens / green-card holders, or Canadians (TN).