Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

Dryft; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A tech startup in San Francisco is looking for a Founding Product Operations Lead to bridge product, engineering, and operations. This role involves hands-on design of product features, transforming operations into systematic solutions, and leading full-stack implementations across multiple regions. Candidates should be systems thinkers with a deep concern for quality, and fluency in both German and English. This is a high-ownership role for those who thrive in complex environments and seek to have a significant impact on scaling the organization.

Qualifications

• Experience in product operations or related fields.
• Strong background in manufacturing or ERP systems.
• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Design the product backbone by working with users.
• Transform operations learnings into product features.
• Lead full-stack rollouts and own implementations.
• Collaborate with CEO & CTO to shape product strategy.

Skills

Product design

Systems thinking

Calm under pressure

Quality focus

Confident communication

Relatable

Fluent in German and English

Job description

DRYFT

Dryft builds intelligent systems that automate complex human decisions in manufacturing operations

We’re a small, talent-dense team with modest roots and a love for the physical world - cars, machines, planes. Our team includes graduates from Stanford, Berkeley, CDTM, TUM, winners of Stanford TreeHacks, recipients of Fulbright & Haniel scholarships, and builders of everything from robots and race cars to software with millions of downloads.

We’re backed by the founders and leaders behind Amazon, Facebook, Stripe, Applied Intuition, & others; General Catalyst & Neo, and board members of global industrial companies.

Today, we’re already saving customers millions. But this is only the beginning. ERPs ran the physical world for half a century. Dryft is powering the next.

THE ROLE

As Founding Product Operations Lead, you’ll operate at the intersection of product, engineering, and operations — turning complex manufacturing challenges into elegant, scalable product systems.

• Design the product backbone. Work hands-on with users, translate their pain into product improvements, and prototype features yourself - ideally writing production code when needed.

• Turn operations into product. Every deployment becomes a blueprint for scale — you’ll transform learnings into reusable product features, data models, and playbooks that move Dryft from bespoke to productized.

• Lead full-stack rollouts. Own implementations end-to-end: from scoping and onboarding to integration and training. Align IT teams, engineers, and C-level execs across Germany, the EU, and the US (10–30% travel).

• Shape how Dryft scales. Work directly with the CEO & CTO to define the product DNA, build the foundation for future teams, and grow into roles like CPO or COO.

This is a high-ownership, zero-handholding role for someone who loves turning complexity into clarity and shipping solutions that just work.

YOU

• Product architect at heart. You turn ERP frustrations into intuitive features. You care deeply about UX, speed, and simplicity.

• Systems thinker. You design processes that scale - in code, in operations, and in how people work. You think in data and automation.

• Calm in chaos. You thrive when it’s messy, high-pressure, and the clock is ticking.

• Quality-obsessed. You hold yourself to a high bar, dive deep into problems, and care about getting it right - not just getting it done.

• Confident communicator. You can calm an impatient exec, convince a skeptical IT leader, and still keep humor in the room.

• Down-to-earth & relatable. You bond with shop-floor operators as easily as with boardroom execs.

• Fluent German & English speaker. Our customers are global, and you’ll move between San Francisco, the US Midwest, Mexico and the heart of German manufacturing.