Forward Deployed Engineer

Chef Robotics; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Chef Robotics seeks a Forward Deployed Engineer to bridge customers and engineering, guiding the entire journey from early evaluation to deployment and long-term success.

You will configure, test, and deploy robotic systems, lead on-site installations, and translate field feedback into product roadmap inputs. Travel and field work are integral to this role.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience in robotics, automation systems, motion planning, perception, or controls.
• Familiarity with Linux/Unix environments, ROS, and scripting in Python.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Sales during early customer engagements to assess needs and evaluate technical feasibility.
• Work closely with customer engineering and operations teams to understand workflows, constraints, and success metrics.
• Configure, test, and validate robotic systems in lab environments, adapting solutions to real-world production requirements.
• Own and project-manage deployments end-to-end, coordinating across internal engineering, manufacturing, and customer teams.
• Lead on-site installations, including system setup, qualification testing, and production ramp.
• Troubleshoot and resolve field issues spanning software, configuration, and hardware break/fix.
• Support customers post-deployment to drive adoption, ensure success, and surface expansion opportunities.
• Translate customer feedback into actionable input for Product and Engineering.

Skills

Robotics

Automation

Motion planning

Perception

Controls

Education

BS/MS in Robotics or related engineering field

Tools

Linux/Unix

ROS

Python scripting

Job description

Chef Robotics is the market leader in physical AI for the food industry – deploying AI-powered robots that solve one of the country's largest, most urgent labor shortages. Our fleet has produced over 110 million real meals across a dozen customer facilities in North America and Europe, for customers like Amy’s Kitchen, gategroup, and CookUnity, and every one of those meals trains our AI further. Backed by leading investors, we’ve proven the hardest part in robotics – real-world deployment at scale – and now we’re looking for people who want to build what comes after.

About the Role

We’re hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer to be the vital link between our customers and our engineering teams – spanning the full customer journey from early technical evaluation through deployment, production ramp-up, and long-term success. You’ll partner directly with customers to bring robotic systems online, troubleshoot in the field, and feed real-world insights back into our product roadmap.

This role is a rare blend of customer-facing, technical, and operational work, and it’s a strong launchpad toward technical leadership or field engineering leadership as you grow with Chef.

What You’ll Do

• Partner with Sales during early customer engagements to assess needs and evaluate technical feasibility
• Work closely with customer engineering and operations teams to understand workflows, constraints, and success metrics
• Configure, test, and validate robotic systems in lab environments, adapting solutions to real-world production requirements
• Own and project‑manage deployments end-to-end, coordinating across internal engineering, manufacturing, and customer teams
• Lead on‑site installations, including system setup, qualification testing, and production ramp
• Troubleshoot and resolve field issues spanning software, configuration, and hardware break/fix
• Support customers post‑deployment to drive adoption, ensure success, and surface expansion opportunities
• Translate customer feedback into actionable input for Product and Engineering

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
• Hands‑on experience in robotics, automation systems, motion planning, perception, or controls
• Familiarity with Linux/Unix environments, ROS, and scripting in Python

Experience

• 2+ years in applications engineering, solutions engineering, field robotics, or another customer‑facing technical role
• Track record operating independently in dynamic, real‑world environments

Work Style & Logistics

• Strong communicator, comfortable working across technical and operational teams
• Highly organized, able to manage multiple concurrent projects and deployments
• Available for non‑standard hours as needed (occasional nights, weekends, on‑call)
• Able to travel up to 75% across North America for on‑site deployments

Nice‑to‑Haves

• Experience in food production, manufacturing, or another regulated production environment
• Exposure to electrical/CAD debugging or hardware‑level troubleshooting
• Experience with Linux/Unix environments, ROS, and scripting in Python