Forward Deployed Engineer

Job description

ABOUT VOOMA Enterprise software is in the midst of a revolution. The world is shifting from "systems of record" to "systems of automation" - LLM powered agents and orchestrators that perform complex business tasks on behalf of and in concert with humans, with increasing levels of autonomy. Vooma's mission is to build the AI orchestration platform for America's $800+ BN trucking industry. Everything we touch in the physical world is moved on a truck - it's the backbone of the US economy. Yet logistics today is still extremely manual, which makes it one of the hungriest industries for the shift toward AI Agents. At Vooma, the products you'll build will help freight brokers and trucking companies win more business and seamlessly execute freight. Our AI agents operate across voice, email and text to automate critical workflows across the load lifecycle. Vooma is backed by top-tier investors including Index Ventures, Craft Ventures, Y-Combinator, and CEOs, founders and executives from the logistics industry. ABOUT THE ROLE Your role, should you choose to join us, will be a Forward Deployed Engineer on our founding team. This is where the rubber meets the road. You'll be the bridge between our cutting-edge AI agent technology and the real-world systems that power America's freight industry. You'll work directly with enterprise customers to design, build, and deploy custom integrations that bring our AI agents to life in their day-to-day operations. You're a good fit if you're the type of person that is known by your peers to move mountains and make progress, no matter the circumstances. You thrive on customer interaction, love solving complex technical puzzles, and get energized by seeing your code make an immediate impact on billion-dollar businesses. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES WILL INCLUDE: - Run discovery sessions with freight brokers, carriers, and 3PL IT teams to nail down pain points, data sources, and success metrics - Design end-to-end solutions - map data flows, select the right models, and create integration architectures that survive contact with legacy TMS/ERP systems - Build & ship rapidly - write clean code (Python/TypeScript), stand up APIs, webhooks, and ETL pipelines that seamlessly connect Vooma agents to customer systems - Iterate fast - release small, validate in production, tighten feedback loops, and eliminate ineffective features early - Own testing and rollout - craft comprehensive test suites, run UAT with operations teams, squash edge-case bugs, and drive go-live success - Coach customers - document workflows, train users, and create playbooks that ensure solutions stick after handoff - Project-manage engagements - set realistic timelines, surface risks early, coordinate cross-functional stakeholders, and keep executives informed - Act as technical first responder during the critical first 90 days in production - triage issues, patch integrations, and optimize models based on real traffic MUST HAVES: - Full-stack builder mindset - comfortable moving between backend APIs and frontend interfaces - Integration expertise - fluent in REST/GraphQL, webhooks, message queues, and authentication schemes (OAuth2, SAML, etc.) - LLM/agent experience - hands-on with prompt engineering, vector search, and evaluation metrics; can translate business logic into agent workflows - Customer empathy + communication skills - can seamlessly switch between C-suite strategy discussions and ops-floor technical details - Rapid prototyping habit - bias for action, willing to hack, test, and refactor under tight deadlines - Structured problem-solving - break complex logistics processes into modular components, spot edge cases early, and make data-driven decisions - Ownership mentality - when you see blockers, you unblock them; no "not my job" mindset - Thrives in ambiguity - comfortable with evolving specs, shifting requirements, and fast-paced startup environment - Travel flexibility - willing to spend up to 25% of time on-site to de-risk deployments and build customer relationships NICE-TO-HAVES: - Experience in logistics, supply chain, or transportation technology - Familiarity with telephony APIs (Twilio, etc.) - Data science background for model fine-tuning and optimization - Previous experience in customer-facing technical roles WHY YOU'LL LOVE WORKING HERE - Rare opportunity to join a formidable team building an enduring company - Direct impact - your code will immediately transform how billion-dollar logistics companies operate - Cutting-edge technology - work with the latest in agentic AI using modern stacks (Next.js, GraphQL, Node, OpenAI, Anthropic) - Competitive compensation with significant equity upside potential - Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage - In-person collaboration in San Francisco with a talented, experienced founding team - Customer-centric culture - work directly with enterprise customers and see the immediate impact of your solutions This role is based in person in San Francisco, CA (not remote). We are also open to candidates located in strategic US freight hubs (Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta).