Forward Deployed Engineer

Workstream is a mission-driven company building the all-in-one HR, payroll, and hiring platform for managing the hourly workforce. There are 2.7 billion hourly workers, making up 80% of the global workforce, but this market has been heavily underserved by technology and deserves better. Workstream has been purpose-built for the hourly workforce from day one so that these businesses and their employees can thrive.Our customers include leading brands from multiple sectors, including Burger King, Carl's Jr./Hardee's, IHOP, KFC, and Culvers. We are a high growth series B company and quickly expanding our product portfolio to deliver on our vision. We are backed by legendary VCs and industry experts like Founders Fund, BOND, and Coatue.Grow With UsWe are looking for a highly technical, customer-obsessed, and execution-driven Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to bridge the gap between Workstream’s product platform and our customers’ most complex operational challenges.In this role, you will operate at the intersection of engineering, product, and customer deployment—embedding deeply with strategic customers to design, build, and deploy high-impact technical solutions that drive measurable business outcomes. You will own end-to-end deployments from discovery and technical scoping through implementation, iteration, and scaled adoption.This is a high-ownership role for engineers who thrive in ambiguity, move quickly from prototype to production, and want to solve real-world business problems rather than just build in abstraction. You will work directly with customers, internal product and engineering teams, and executive stakeholders to shape deployment strategy while identifying reusable patterns that influence Workstream’s broader platform roadmap. This structure mirrors leading forward-deployed models where engineers embed closely with customers, ship quickly, and feed field insights back into core product development.This is a full-time, hybrid role requiring presence 3 days a week in our Menlo Park office to foster close collaboration with cross-functional teams.Day in the LifeOwn technical delivery across strategic customer deployments from initial discovery through production launch and long-term adoptionEmbed closely with enterprise customers to understand workflows, operational pain points, and technical requirementsScope, architect, and build custom solutions, integrations, workflows, and product extensions that deliver measurable customer valueWrite production-grade code across backend, frontend, APIs, integrations, or automation layers as needed to accelerate deploymentTranslate ambiguous customer problems into structured technical roadmaps and execution plansPartner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Sales, Customer Success, and Leadership to align deployments with business prioritiesMake trade-offs between speed, scope, scalability, and productization while protecting customer outcomesIdentify repeatable deployment patterns and convert one-off customer solutions into scalable product capabilitiesServe as a strategic technical advisor to customers, helping shape adoption, implementation strategy, and long-term successSurface field learnings, customer pain points, and deployment insights back to Workstream’s core product roadmapWho You Are4+ years of experience in robotics, computer vision, machine learning, data science or model buildingStrong full-stack technical capability (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, APIs, SQL, integrations, or similar)Proven ability to own and deliver complex technical projects in ambiguous, fast-moving environmentsExperience working directly with customers or external stakeholders on technical implementationsExceptional problem-solving skills with a bias toward action and first-principles thinkingAbility to move quickly from prototype to production while maintaining qualityStrong communication and stakeholder management skills across technical and non-technical audiencesHigh ownership mindset with pride in end-to-end accountabilityComfort balancing immediate customer needs with long-term scalable product thinkingBonus PointsExperience in HR tech, SaaS, payroll, hiring, or workforce management platformsBackground in forward deployed engineering, solutions architecture, implementation engineering, or technical consultingExperience building integrations, workflow automation, or AI-powered operational toolsFamiliarity with enterprise deployments, APIs, data pipelines, or systems architecturePrevious experience at high-growth startups, Palantir-style deployment teams, or customer-facing product engineering organizationsWhy This Role Is DifferentThis is not traditional software engineering, sales engineering, or implementation support. Forward Deployed Engineers at Workstream act more like startup operators or technical mini-GMs for strategic deployments—owning customer outcomes, shipping production systems quickly, and shaping the future product through execution. The best candidates are engineers who want to build, deploy, and influence product direction simultaneously.What We OfferA mission-driven and value-based company dedicated to empower deskless workers and local businessesAn early employee opportunity at a Series B hyper-growth startup; work with the founding team and industry veterans to accelerate your careerCompetitive salary and equityComprehensive health coverage: medical, dental, and vision. We pay 95% of your premiums for our employees and 85% for dependentsIn office amenities and stocked kitchen401K Plan Pre-tax commuter benefitsLearning/development stipendFlexible PTOSalary RangeIn compliance with the California Pay Transparency Law, the base salary range for this role is between $150k to $180k base in San Francisco. This range is not inclusive of our discretionary bonus or equity package. When determining a candidate’s compensation, we consider a number of factors including skillset, experience, job scope, and current market data.Know More About Workstreamhttps://www.workstream.us/blog/funding-series-bhttps://techcrunch.com/2021/08/26/workstreams-text-based-recruitment-tool-gets-a-48m-bet-from-bond-and-beyond/https://techbuzz.news/buzzworthy-august-27-2021/Additional InformationWorkstream provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.We are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals.