Forward Deployed Engineering Lead

Promise • San Francisco, CA

3d

About The Position

We’re looking for a Forward Deployed Engineering Lead who wants to build where it matters most, alongside critical service providers in government and utilities, delivering essential outcomes for folks across the country.
You’ll operate at the front lines of major deployments, working directly with customer stakeholders to scope problems, untangle legacy systems, and ship production code that works in the real world. You’ll thrive in high-ambiguity, high-stakes environments—making smart tradeoffs, moving quickly, and turning messy constraints into scalable solutions.
You’ll also build and lead a strong team of Forward Deployed Engineers—setting a high bar for execution, coaching through complex problem-solving, and fostering a culture of ownership, trust, and continuous improvement. This role is about owning outcomes: unblocking launches, closing product gaps, and building a team that delivers results where it counts.

Requirements

• 6+ years fielding real production solutions (strong backend and systems fundamentals).
• You’re deeply hands-on and happiest close to the code and the real-world problem.
• You’re comfortable in front of customers and credible with technical stakeholders.
• You don’t wait for perfect specs—you ask sharp questions and move.
• You can hold complexity in your head and simplify it.
• You’re ambitious and want to build infrastructure that actually matters.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead an exceptional team of Forward Deployed Engineers. Manage and mentor FDEs with a high bar for execution, fostering deep ownership, sharp thinking, and a culture of trust, direct feedback, and shared problem solving.
• Own customer engagements end-to-end. Scope the problem, design the solution, write the code, ship it, and make sure it works in production. Translate unclear requirements into clean technical execution.
• Build forward from the outcome. Start with the real-world result we need to achieve and work backward—across product, data, integrations, and process—to make it happen. Write backend code, debug APIs, clean data, configure workflows, jump on customer calls, or patch a script at 10pm before launch. No job is “not yours.”
• Own the last mile. Ensure what we build actually works in production, in real environments, with real users.
• Balance speed with judgment. Know when to ship a scrappy v1 and when to invest in long-term foundations.
• Be the calm in the storm. Debug issues live, unblock stakeholders, and keep momentum during high-stakes launches.
• Turn scrappiness into systems. Turn hard-won deployment lessons into reusable tooling and product improvements.
• Think critically. Challenge assumptions, spot risks early, and make pragmatic calls that balance speed and durability.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed