Forward Deployed Engineer, Intern

Retell AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 34,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

Retell AI is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer Intern to work directly with customers and our engineering team in the San Francisco Bay Area. You will help build, test, and deploy AI voice solutions for real-world use cases and troubleshoot production issues, working closely with customers to ensure reliable outcomes.

This internship is hands-on, not a side project. You’ll ship code, deploy solutions, and bring customer learnings back into the product to improve the platform for real

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience programming in Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, or a similar language.
• Interested in AI and want to work on systems that are actually used by customers.

Responsibilities

• Build & Deploy: Build and deploy technical solutions for real customer use cases.
• Work with Customers: Join customer calls, understand their problems, and help turn those problems into technical solutions.
• Solve Problems: Debug issues across APIs, integrations, data, and AI systems.
• Ship Quickly: Write code, test solutions, and get them into production.
• Improve the Product: Identify patterns across deployments and work with engineering to turn them into product improvements.
• Own Projects: Take projects from an initial customer problem through deployment and iteration.

Skills

Python

TypeScript

JavaScript

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS/CE/EE

Job description

ABOUT RETELL AI

Retell AI is using first-principles thinking to reimagine the call center with cutting-edge voice AI. Thousands of companies now use Retell's AI voice agents to handle sales, support, and logistics calls that once required large teams of human agents. Backed by Y Combinator, Alt Capital, and other leading investors, we've scaled to $80M in ARR with a team of 50, up from $5M at the start of 2025, and are now valued at over $1.5B.

Our vision for 2026 is to build a modern CX platform where entire contact centers are powered by AI. Instead of basic automation that needs constant human tuning, we're creating intelligent AI “workers” that act as frontline agents, QA analysts, and managers, continuously executing, monitoring, and improving every customer interaction.

We're growing fast and looking for ambitious builders who want to tackle hard technical problems, move quickly, and have a real impact on one of the fastest-growing voice AI companies in the world.

Let's build the future together.

Recent recognition:

• No. 1 Best Places to Work in the Bay Area, San Francisco Business Times 2026
• Top 50 AI Apps, a16z (2025)
• #3 Fastest-Growing Software Company, G2 Best Software Awards 2026
• Best Agentic AI Software, G2 Best Software Awards 2026
• #4 Fastest-Growing Software Vendor, Brex Benchmark 2025
• Enterprise Tech 30 Class of 2026, Nasdaq & Wing VC
• Top-Ranked Startup, Lean AI Leaderboard
• Backed by Y Combinator

ABOUT THE ROLE

We’re looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer Intern to work directly with our customers and engineering team.

You’ll sit at the intersection of engineering and customers. You’ll help build, test, and deploy AI voice solutions for real-world use cases, troubleshoot technical issues, and work closely with customers to make sure what we build actually works in production.

This isn’t a typical internship where you’re working on a side project. You’ll work on real customer deployments, ship code, and see the impact of your work quickly.

You’ll also work closely with our engineering team to bring what we learn from customers back into the product.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build & Deploy: Build and deploy technical solutions for real customer use cases.
• Work with Customers: Join customer calls, understand their problems, and help turn those problems into technical solutions.
• Solve Problems: Debug issues across APIs, integrations, data, and AI systems.
• Ship Quickly: Write code, test solutions, and get them into production.
• Improve the Product: Identify patterns across deployments and work with engineering to turn them into product improvements.
• Own Projects: Take projects from an initial customer problem through deployment and iteration.

YOU MIGHT THRIVE IF

• You’re pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• You enjoy building things and figuring out how they work.
• You have experience programming in Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, or a similar language.
• You’re comfortable working through ambiguous technical problems.
• You’re interested in AI and want to work on systems that are actually being used by customers.
• You communicate clearly and enjoy working directly with people.
• You move quickly and take ownership without needing everything spelled out.
• You’ve built projects, shipped software, or worked on something outside of school that you’re excited to talk about.

JOB DETAILS

• Employment Type: Internship
• Location: San Francisco Bay Area - Redwood City
• Work Arrangement: In-office
• Compensation: Competitive internship compensation