Forward Deployed Engineer

Zest for Tech; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully covered healthcare

Generous PTO and sick leave

Daily office meals and snacks

Company retreats and offsites

Equity opportunity

Job summary

Zest for Tech is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to deploy and integrate products in customer environments from their San Francisco office. This hybrid role involves close collaboration with external teams, solving real-world deployment challenges, and shaping product feedback through hands-on work.

You’ll travel to customer sites, work across engineering, product, and design to ensure smooth deployments and measurable impact, with base salary up to $220k plus equity and strong benefits.

Qualifications

• Proven experience deploying production software in fast-moving environments.
• Experience in a customer-facing technical role with strong communication.
• Curiosity and ownership; comfortable navigating ambiguity.
• Excellent collaboration across technical and non-technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Integrate products into existing customer systems and workflows.
• Resolve complex deployment challenges in real-world environments.
• Improve products based on customer feedback and hands-on experience.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, design, and delivery teams for successful deployments.
• Travel to customer sites to support rollouts and relationships.

Skills

Production software deployment

Customer-facing role

Curiosity and ownership

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Forward Deployed Engineer | Tech for Social Good | up to $220k

We’re partnered with a mission-driven technology company building products that help improve access to essential services for underserved communities. Their platform is used in highly complex operational environments, and they’re looking for engineers who enjoy solving messy real-world problems with both technical depth and empathy for the end user.

This is a hybrid engineering role focused on deploying and integrating products into customer environments. You’d work closely with external stakeholders, solve implementation challenges, and help shape the product through direct exposure to customer feedback and operational realities.

What you’ll do:

• Work directly with customer teams to integrate products into existing systems and workflows.
• Dive into complex environments, untangling technical and operational challenges to deliver practical solutions that work in production.
• Improve products through real-world feedback and hands-on implementation experience.
• Partner cross-functionally with engineering, product, design, and delivery teams to ensure successful deployments.
• Travel to customer sites to support rollouts and strengthen relationships.

What you’ll bring:

• Experience building and deploying production software in fast-moving environments.
• Experience in a customer-facing technical role where you balanced communication, problem-solving, and technical execution.
• Curiosity and ownership. You’re comfortable navigating ambiguity, learning quickly, and figuring things out independently.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work across technical and non-technical teams.

Location:

Hybrid from their SF office, 4 days a week

What’s on offer:

• $150k - $220k base + equity
• Fully covered healthcare
• Generous PTO and sick leave
• Daily office perks including meals and snacks
• Company retreats and team offsites
• The opportunity to work on products with tangible real-world impact