Forward Deployed Engineer

Zendesk France, SAS; France; Sur place; EUR 90 000 - 140 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Zendesk France, SAS is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to join our Technical Presales team. You will design, build, and deliver production‑grade AI solutions embedded with strategic customers, translating needs into robust integrations and LLM-powered workflows.

The role blends software engineering with strategic consulting: end-to-end delivery, API integrations, data pipelines, and collaboration with product and engineering to reduce deployment friction.

Qualifications

• 5+ years software engineering experience delivering production systems.
• Fluent in French and English.
• Proficient in Python and JavaScript/TypeScript; backend experience in Java/Ruby/Go preferred.
• Hands-on experience deploying or integrating LLM-based solutions in production (RAG, vector DBs).
• Cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure) and containerized deployments (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Onsite with customers and travel up to 50% as required.

Responsabilités

• Lead end-to-end technical delivery of AI agent and LLM-powered solutions: discovery, scoping, system design, PoC, production rollout, and handoff.
• Build production-grade integrations and connectors (APIs, data pipelines, RAG systems).
• Troubleshoot and resolve escalated blockers across data, infra, and model behavior.
• Serve as the field’s final line of defense for complex issues.
• Collaborate with Sales engineering and product teams to map systems and implement solutions.
• Translate customer learnings into product feedback and roadmap items.

Connaissances

Software engineering

Python

JavaScript/TypeScript

French

English

Formation

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Outils

Docker

Kubernetes

LangChain

LlamaIndex

Haystack

Description du poste

Job Description Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) — AI & Solutions

Join us at Zendesk, where we're on a mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet. We're accelerating that ambition by building products rooted in AI, automation, and intelligent customer experiences, because behind every interaction lies an opportunity to make a human connection.

We're hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our Technical Presales team. In this role you’ll be an elite hybrid: part software engineer, part strategic consultant. You’ll do more than just sell the dream, you’ll execute what’s possible. In this role you’ll be embedded with strategic customers to design, build, and deliver production‑grade AI solutions that unlock measurable ROI. You’ll translate customer needs into robust integrations, architect LLM‑powered workflows, and collaborate cross‑functionally to turn real‑world friction into product improvements. You will play a vital role in growing Zendesk’s enterprise footprint by delivering high‑impact, scalable AI deployments. Building trusted technical partnerships, delivering crisp, production‑ready solutions, and amplifying Zendesk’s AI capabilities within complex, high‑value accounts.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead end‑to‑end technical delivery of AI agent and LLM‑powered solutions: discovery, scoping, system design, PoC, production rollout, and operational handoff.
• Build production‑grade integrations and custom connectors (APIs, data pipelines, RAG systems) to surface high‑quality signals into Zendesk AI workflows.
• Troubleshoot and resolve escalated technical blockers across data, infra, and model behavior.
• Act as the field’s final line of defense for complex issues.
• Collaborate closely with Sales engineering and product teams to map undocumented systems, define integration patterns, and implement solutions.
• Translate customer learnings into product feedback and prioritized roadmap items; partner with Zendesk Product and Engineering to reduce future deployment friction.

What you bring to the role

• Founder mindset: comfortable navigating ambiguity, mapping unknown systems, and delivering results without a predefined playbook.
• Engineering rigor: 5+ years building production systems; strong software engineering fundamentals and attention to quality.
• Full‑stack fluency: experience across frontend (React/TypeScript), backend (Python / Node / Java / Ruby), REST/GraphQL APIs, and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• AI/LLM expertise: practical experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), vector stores, and evaluation/guardrails for model safety and reliability.
• Systems integrator: proven ability to design secure data ingestion, ETL/data pipelines, and work with diverse data stores and message systems.
• Excellent communicator: able to present trade‑offs to executives and pair‑program with customer engineers; strong written runbooks and documentation skills.
• Travel readiness: willing to travel as needed to customer sites (typical range 25–50%).

Basic qualifications

• 5+ years software engineering experience delivering production systems.
• Fluent in French and English.
• Proficient in Python and JavaScript/TypeScript; experience with at least one backend language (Java, Ruby, or Go) preferred.
• Hands‑on experience deploying or integrating LLM‑based solutions in production (RAG, vector DBs, model evaluation).
• Practical experience with cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure) and containerized deployments (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Comfortable working onsite with customers and traveling up to 50% as required.

Preferred qualifications

• Previous FDE, Professional Services, Solutions Engineering, or Technical Account Management experience delivering enterprise AI or SaaS deployments.
• Experience with specific LLM tooling and frameworks (LangChain, LlamaIndex, Haystack, or similar).
• Familiarity with Zendesk products and APIs, or experience integrating customer support/contact‑center platforms.
• Background in observability and operationalization of ML/AI (monitoring, SLOs, cost controls, retraining pipelines).
• Experience with data governance, PII handling, and enterprise security/compliance constraints.

#LI-JF2

The intelligent heart of customer experience. Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law.

Zendesk is on a mission to simplify the complexity of business and make it easy for companies and customers to create connections. Our customer experience software unlocks the power of billions of interactions, enabling businesses to build rich, meaningful relationships with their customers.

What’s it like to work here? Our offices reflect the global cities we call home, and have spaces for collaboration, quiet, and events. With our hybrid approach, you’ll experience flexibility and connection, collaboration, and learning with your team.