Founding Sales Engineer

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](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/voice-ai-startup-retell-ai-145200025.html) - [Top 50 AI Apps, a16z (2025)](https://a16z.com/the-ai-application-spending-report-where-startup-dollars-really-go/) - [#3 Fastest-Growing Software Company, G2 Best Software Awards 2026](https://company.g2.com/news/g2s-2026-best-software-awards) - [Best Agentic AI Software, G2 Best Software Awards 2026](https://www.retellai.com/blog/retell-ai-recognized-as-the-best-agentic-ai-software-by-g2) - [#4 Fastest-Growing Software Vendor, Brex Benchmark 2025](https://www.brex.com/journal/brex-benchmark-december-2025) - [Enterprise Tech 30 Class of 2026, Nasdaq & Wing VC](https://www.nasdaq.com/videos/retell-ai) - [Top-Ranked Startup, Lean AI Leaderboard](https://leanaileaderboard.com/) - [Backed by Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/retell-ai) ## ABOUT THE ROLE We are hiring a Founding Sales Engineer to help enterprise customers successfully adopt Voice AI from the first technical conversation through production deployment. You'll partner closely with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Retell's founders to design enterprise Voice AI solutions, build technical proofs of concept, and guide customers through technical validation. You'll become a trusted technical advisor to engineering teams, architects, and executives while helping shape how enterprises deploy AI-powered voice agents. This role sits at the intersection of sales engineering, solution architecture, applied AI, and enterprise software. You'll work directly with some of the world's largest companies to solve complex technical problems while influencing Retell's product roadmap through customer feedback. As one of our first Sales Engineers, you'll help define the function, build repeatable technical sales processes, and play a critical role in scaling one of the fastest-growing Voice AI platforms. ## KEY RESPONSIBILITIES ### Technical Sales & Customer Discovery - Partner with Account Executives throughout the sales cycle, from discovery through production handoff. - Lead technical discovery sessions to understand customer architecture, business goals, and technical requirements. - Develop technical win strategies for strategic enterprise opportunities. - Present technical solutions to engineering teams, architects, and executive stakeholders. ### Solution Architecture & Design - Design enterprise Voice AI solutions, including APIs, integrations, conversation architecture, security, and deployment strategies. - Translate customer requirements into scalable technical solution designs. - Recommend best practices for production deployments across enterprise environments. - Guide customers through architecture reviews and technical decision making. ### Demos & Proof of Concepts - Build compelling demos, prototypes, and proof-of-concepts that demonstrate measurable business value. - Support customer pilots and technical evaluations. - Create sample integrations and technical assets that accelerate customer adoption. - Help customers successfully transition from evaluation into production. ### Technical Product Expert - Become the technical expert on Retell's Voice AI platform, LLMs, prompting, telephony, APIs, and deployment best practices. - Lead architecture reviews, product deep dives, and security discussions. - Own RFP responses, technical documentation, security questionnaires, and architecture diagrams. - Partner with Product and Engineering to influence roadmap based on customer feedback. ### Cross-Functional Leadership - Work closely with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Customer Success to close complex enterprise opportunities. - Help establish best practices for technical sales and customer onboarding. - Support strategic customers throughout their implementation journey. - Represent customer needs internally to improve the product and customer experience. ## YOU MIGHT THRIVE IF YOU - Have 2+ of experience as a Sales Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Solutions Architect, Forward Deployed Engineer, Customer Success Engineer, or another customer-facing technical role. - Have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field. - Have strong technical fundamentals across APIs, cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, software architecture, and integrations. - Enjoy presenting to both engineering teams and executive stakeholders. - Love simplifying complex technical concepts into business value. - Have experience building demos, prototypes, or proof-of-concepts. - Are excited by AI, LLMs, Voice AI, and emerging technologies. - Thrive in fast-moving startup environments with high ownership and ambiguity. - Enjoy working cross-functionally across Sales, Engineering, Product, and Customer Success. - Care deeply about solving customer problems and helping customers succeed. ## JOB DETAILS - **Cash:** 170k - 260k - **Equity:** Offers Meaningful Equity - **Location:** Redwood City, CA, US - ***relocation provided*** - **US Visas:** Retell AI is open to sponsoring work authorization for qualified candidates, including H-1B, TN, L-1, E-3, F-1 (OPT/CPT), and O-1 visas. ## OTHER BENEFITS - 100% coverage for medical, dental, and vision insurance - $70/day DoorDash credit for unlimited breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks - $200/month wellness reimbursement (gym, fitness classes, etc.) - $300/month commuter reimbursement (gas, Caltrain, etc.) - $75/month phone bill reimbursement - $50/month internet reimbursement ## COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY **Best Offer Upfront:** Choose from three cash-equity balance options; no negotiation needed. **Top 1% Talent:** Above-market pay (top 5 percentile) to attract exceptional builders. **High Ownership:** Small teams, >$1M revenue/employee, and significant equity. **Performance-Based:** Offers tied to interview performance, not experience or past salaries. ## **INTERVIEW PROCESS** 1. **Talent Screen** (15 min): An introductory conversation with our recruiting team to learn more about your background, experience, and interest in Retell. 2. **Functional Interview** (45 min): A practical discussion focused on problem-solving, communication, customer-facing judgment, and how you approach ambiguous business and technical challenges. 3. **Hiring Manager Interview** (30 min): A conversation focused on past experiences, ownership, stakeholder management, and working in high-growth environments. 4. **Final Interviews** (3 hrs): A series of collaborative interviews with members of our Product, Engineering, and GTM teams. We'll explore how you think through customer problems, work cross-functionally, communicate with stakeholders, and execute in fast-paced environments.