Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering

Job description

About the role As a Manager of Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) at Rippling, you will lead a team of engineers responsible for delivering high-impact, customized solutions for our customers. You will operate at the intersection of engineering, customer success, and product—ensuring your team consistently executes complex implementations with high quality and efficiency. This role is ideal for a hands-on technical leader who thrives in fast-paced environments, enjoys solving ambiguous real-world problems, and is passionate about developing strong engineering talent. You will be accountable for team delivery, operational excellence, and contributor growth across multiple concurrent customer engagements. What you will do Lead and develop a high-performing team of FDEs Provide day-to-day guidance, mentorship, and coaching Drive performance management, feedback, and career development Build a strong team culture focused on ownership and customer impact Own execution across customer engagements Ensure successful delivery of complex implementations across multiple projects Oversee development of custom integrations, workflows, applications, and analytics using Rippling products and languages like Python, Javascript, Ruby, Java, Go, C or C++ Maintain high standards for quality, reliability, and scalability Drive operational excellence Improve team-level processes, delivery consistency, and execution rigor Manage resourcing, prioritization, and execution across concurrent engagements Identify and resolve delivery bottlenecks and cross-team dependencies Partner cross-functionally to unblock execution Collaborate with Account Management, Product, Engineering, and CX teams Escalate and resolve issues impacting customer delivery Ensure alignment between customer needs and product capabilities Engage directly with customers when needed Support critical engagements and high-priority accounts Help scope solutions and guide technical decision-making Ensure strong customer outcomes and satisfaction Contribute to team hiring and growth Participate in recruiting and onboarding new FDEs Maintain a high bar for technical and customer-facing talent Qualifications Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field 5+ years of software development experience with strong proficiency in one or more of: Python, Javascript, Ruby, Java, Go, C or C++, along with SQL and data modeling 1–3+ years of experience leading or mentoring engineers (formal or informal leadership) Proven ability to deliver complex technical projects in fast-paced environments Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity and prioritize effectively Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, especially in customer-facing contexts Customer-centric mindset with experience working directly with external stakeholders Willingness to travel to client sites as needed (up to ~25%) Nice to have / strongly preferred Experience using AI to transform real-world workflows, team operations, customer delivery, or business processes, not just building AI features in isolation; able to identify high-ROI use cases and guide them from discovery through production deployment, adoption, and measurable impact. Track record applying AI agents, workflow automation, copilots, data products, or custom software to turn ambiguous business problems into durable solutions that customers or internal teams actually use, with strong judgment around reliability, evals, guardrails, permissions, and change management. Additional Information Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics, Rippling is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email Rippling highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office-based employees (employees who live within a defined radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role. About Rippling Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system. Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third-party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds. Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B+ from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes. We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from @ addresses.