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Forward Deployment Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$100K - $150K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Retirement

As a Forward Deployment Engineer, you'll help drive the growth of Speechmatics by working directly with customers, partners, and developer communities to demonstrate, integrate, customise, and deploy ...

Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

You will be one of the first people to define what forward deployment looks like at Reactor. What ... engineering or a technical role working directly with external teams * Comfortable reading and ...

The Forward Deployed Engineer will work closely with customers to deploy and integrate the Mithrl ... deployment, and connectivity issues in real customer environments • Implement automation and ...

About the Job As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Field AI, you'll be at the forefront of bringing ... What You'll Get To Do * 1. Field Deployment & Operations * Lead the end-to-end deployment of ...

Forward Deployed Engineer

Irvine, CA · On-site

$70K - $300K/yr

About the Job As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Field AI, you'll be at the forefront of bringing ... What You'll Get To Do * 1. Field Deployment & Operations * Lead the end-to-end deployment of ...

About the Job As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Field AI, you'll be at the forefront of bringing ... What You'll Get To Do * 1. Field Deployment & Operations * Lead the end-to-end deployment of ...

Head of Deployment

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$250K - $400K/yr

Recruit, mentor, and develop a world-class team of forward deployed engineers who embody Serval's pace and precision. * Establish metrics and systems to track deployment velocity, adoption, and ...

Forward Deployed Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$130K - $200K/yr

This role is a hybrid of network, customer success, forward deployment, embedded systems, and software engineering. You will play a critical role in installing embedded devices at customer sites to ...

Forward Deployed Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$130K - $200K/yr

This role is a hybrid of network, customer success, forward deployment, embedded systems, and software engineering. You will play a critical role in installing embedded devices at customer sites to ...

Showing results 21-40

Forward Deployment Engineer information

See California salary details

$35K

$108.1K

$167.8K

How much do forward deployment engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for forward deployment engineer in California is $108,126.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $79,400.00 and $136,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a forward deployment engineer?

Forward Deployment Engineers (FDEs) are technical professionals who work directly with clients to implement, customize, and deploy software solutions. They act as a bridge between engineering teams and customers, ensuring that products are successfully integrated into the client's environment and tailored to meet their specific needs. FDEs typically handle a mix of software engineering, problem-solving, and client-facing responsibilities, often traveling to customer sites to provide on-the-ground support. Their role is essential for organizations that offer complex technical products requiring hands-on deployment and adaptation.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a forward deployment engineer?

To thrive as a Forward Deployment Engineer, you need strong analytical and problem-solving skills, a solid foundation in computer science or engineering, and relevant experience or a degree in these fields. Familiarity with programming languages (such as Python or Java), cloud platforms, and deployment/configuration management tools is typically required, along with knowledge of client-facing software solutions. Outstanding communication, adaptability, and teamwork skills help you understand client needs and collaborate effectively across teams. These skills ensure successful implementation and integration of complex software solutions in diverse client environments.

How does a forward deployment engineer typically collaborate with clients and internal teams during a project?

Forward Deployment Engineers often serve as a bridge between clients and internal engineering or product teams. They work closely with clients to understand their unique requirements, configure solutions, and ensure successful deployments, frequently traveling to client sites. Internally, they collaborate with engineers, product managers, and support staff to relay client feedback, troubleshoot issues, and optimize system performance. This role requires excellent communication skills and adaptability, as each project may involve different stakeholders and technical challenges.

What is the difference between Forward Deployment Engineer vs Network Engineer?

AspectForward Deployment EngineerNetwork Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's in CS, EE, or related; certifications like CCNA, Cisco, or cloud certificationsBachelor's in CS, EE, or related; certifications like CCNA, CompTIA Network+
Work EnvironmentOn-site deployments, fieldwork, client sites, and data centersOffice-based, network infrastructure setup, maintenance, and troubleshooting
Industry UsageTech, telecom, cloud providers, hardware vendorsIT, telecom, enterprise networks, service providers

While both roles require networking knowledge and certifications like CCNA, Forward Deployment Engineers focus on deploying and supporting hardware and systems directly at client sites, often involving fieldwork. Network Engineers primarily design, implement, and maintain network infrastructure within organizations. The roles overlap in certifications and industry usage but differ in work environment and deployment focus.

What job categories do people searching Forward Deployment Engineer jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Forward Deployment Engineer jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Forward Deployment Engineer jobs?

Cities in California with the most Forward Deployment Engineer job openings:

Infographic showing various Forward Deployment Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 4% Internship, 78% Full Time, and 18% Contract. Highlights an 79% In-person, and 21% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $108,126 per year, or $52 per hour.

Agent Deployment Engineer - Spanish Speaking

Decagon

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$175K - $230K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 25 days ago


Job description

About Decagon
Decagon is the leading conversational AI platform empowering every brand to deliver concierge customer experiences.
Our technology enables industry-defining enterprises like Avis Budget Group, Block's Cash App and Square, Chime, Oura Health, and Hunter Douglas to deploy AI agents that power personalized, deeply satisfying interactions across voice, chat, email, SMS, and every other channel.
We're building a future where customer experiences are being redefined from support tickets and hold music to faster resolutions, richer conversations, and deeper relationships. We're proud to be backed by world-class investors who share that vision, including a16z, Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, Coatue, and Index Ventures, along with many others.
We're an in-office company, driven by a shared commitment to excellence and velocity. Our values - Just Get It Done, Invent What Customers Want, Winner's Mindset, and The Polymath Principle - shape how we work and grow as a team.
About the Team
Over the past few years, development of LLMs has evolved at a rapid pace. It's not enough for our customers to just "set it and forget it" when it comes to AI software. Truly successful AI Agents require hands-on execution, rigorous iteration, and deep technical delivery to reach enterprise-grade performance.
We're creating an Agent Deployment Engineering Org: a specialized technical delivery team responsible for end-to-end execution of AI agent builds. Agent Deployment Engineers own the hands-on work required to deliver best-in-class agents-writing and configuring key components, validating integrations, and ensuring agents perform reliably at scale. This team brings greater specialization and focus to build quality. Agent Deployment Engineers are technical and customer-facing: you'll interface with senior technical stakeholders on the customer side while also going deep on agent configuration and build execution.
About the Role
As an Agent Deployment Engineer, you will be responsible for end-to-end execution of AI agent builds for strategic customers. This is a highly technical delivery role where you will own the implementation work required to launch and scale enterprise-quality agents-partnering with customers and internal teams to define success, translate requirements into build plans, and deliver agents that meaningfully impact the customer's business.
You'll work closely with Agent PMs, Agent Success, Engineering, and GTM teams to create tight feedback loops: executing builds, surfacing gaps, and influencing the evolution of Decagon's agent-building platform based on real customer needs. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, enjoys shipping customer-facing technical work, and can balance hands-on execution with structured thinking.
In this role, you will
  • Own end-to-end architecture and execution of AI agent builds for enterprise customers, from systems design and initial scoping through implementation, evaluation, and production deployment.
  • Design and engineer the core agentic logic governing agent behavior, applying engineering principles to optimize quality, reliability, and correctness across non-deterministic model outputs.
  • Engineer and validate layered guardrails and supervisory controls to ensure safe, compliant, and predictable agent performance across real-world scenarios.
  • Architect, build, and test integrations with customer systems (e.g., data pipelines, CRMs, ticketing systems), including building the tools, APIs, and workflows needed for reliable deployments at scale.
  • Interface with senior technical stakeholders at customers to define success criteria and system requirements, and drive technical delivery against timelines.
  • Diagnose, debug, and resolve both probabilistic and technical failures through root-cause analysis of execution traces, error logs, and model behavior.
  • Design evaluation and regression-testing frameworks to validate agent behavior against ground truth and guard against performance drift.
  • Translate customer needs into clear internal documentation and run tight feedback loops with Engineering to drive platform improvements.
  • Partner closely with APMs, Engineering, Design, and Go-To-Market teams to deliver consistent, repeatable, best-in-class agent builds.

Your background looks something like this
  • Have 5+ years of relevant experience in a technical customer-facing role (e.g., solutions engineering, forward-deployed engineering, technical consulting, implementation engineering, technical product/PM, or similar).
  • Native or business-level fluency in both written and spoken English and Spanish is required.
  • Strong technical foundation: comfortable writing code, working with APIs, and building/validating integrations end-to-end.
    Experience delivering production-grade customer solutions that require structured execution, testing/validation, and iteration.
  • Ability to communicate clearly with senior technical stakeholders, translate requirements into implementation plans, and drive delivery.
  • Comfort working in fast-moving, ambiguous environments where you shape solutions as much as you implement them.

Even better if you have
  • Experience building with or around LLMs / AI agents (prompting, evaluation, guardrails, tooling, workflow design, etc.).
  • Experience with enterprise SaaS integrations (e.g., ticketing systems, CRM, data pipelines) and associated security/compliance considerations.
  • A Computer Science, Engineering, or Math degree, or equivalent technical experience.
  • Strong product instinct: ability to write crisp PRDs, define success metrics, and contribute customer insight back into product roadmap.

Compensation
$175K - $230K • Offers Equity
Benefits
We proudly offer the following benefits for our full-time employees:
  • Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits for you and your family
  • Life Insurance and Disability Benefits
  • Retirement Plan (e.g., 401K, pension)
  • Parental Leave
  • Fertility and family building benefits through Carrot
  • Monthly stipend to support your wellness, lifestyle, and work-life balance
  • Daily lunches and snacks in the office to keep you at your best
  • Take what you need vacation policy (subject to local requirements; UK employees receive 25 days of statutory leave)

These benefits are described in more detail in Decagon's policies, may vary by location, and can change at any time according to applicable compensation and benefits plans.