Forward Deployed Engineer

About Bland AI

We’re a series B startup, and have raised $65 million from Emergence Capital, Y Combinator, and the founders of PayPal and Twilio. Bland.ai builds AI voice agents that handle real phone calls for some of the largest companies in the world. Our software runs inside critical workflows at companies like Samsara, Gallup, TripAdvisor, Snapchat, Signant Health, Better.com, and others.

Why This Role Exists

Every customer is different — the problems they’re solving, the data they have, and the impact they want to create with AI. We’re looking for someone who thrives in that ambiguity, who can take fuzzy goals and transform them into working, production-ready agents that deliver real value. You’ll work directly with customers to understand their workflows, build tailored agents, and help shape how Bland is adopted across their organization.

What You’ll Do

Design and deploy AI solutions. Work closely with customers to translate their challenges into functional agents, integrating APIs and data sources to automate real business processes.
Prototype fast, iterate faster. Build the first version quickly, get it into production, and refine based on real-world feedback.
Collaborate deeply. Partner with customer teams across engineering, product, and operations to ensure the agent performs, scales, and delivers measurable outcomes.
Own end-to-end delivery. From discovery call to deployment, you’ll lead the technical build, testing, and iteration — ensuring the experience feels natural, human, and on-brand.
Drive adoption and expansion. Share results, train teams, and embed yourself within the customer organization to uncover new opportunities for automation and scale.
Be the face of Bland. You are the customer’s champion, their best employee, and you treat them with unreasonable hospitality. You travel on-site, get to know our customers on a human level, and develop real relationships with our champions and other stakeholders, going above and beyond to host training sessions and dinners.

Must-Have Qualifications

3–10 years of experience in full-stack, AI, or solutions engineering roles where you owned builds from concept to production.
Proven experience building and integrating AI or automation features into real-world applications.
Hands-on experience integrating LLMs or AI SDKs into web applications.
Strong comfort working with REST/JSON, scripting languages (Python or JavaScript), and modern dev tools (Git, NPM/PNPM).
Track record of ownership and grit — moments where you built something from scratch, solved hard problems, or exceeded expectations.
Excellent communication skills — you can explain complex AI concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Thrives in a fast-moving, high-intensity environment — motivated by challenge, curiosity, and the pursuit of great work.
Willingness to work in-person frequently (SF HQ and customer sites) to collaborate and accelerate learning.

Nice-to-Haves

Hands-on experience experimenting with or deploying LLM-powered tools or agents.
Prior startup or founder experience — you know what it takes to build without a playbook.
Curiosity about AI agent design, orchestration, and automation systems.
Experience working directly with customers to identify pain points and turn them into shipped solutions.
A portfolio of personal or side projects that showcase creativity, technical depth, and persistence.
Exceptional new grads with strong ownership and ambition are welcome to apply.

Why you'll love working here

You’ll be joining one of the fastest-moving AI teams in the world — where speed, creativity, and ownership are the default. You’ll ship real agents used by real customers, working directly with teams that are transforming how humans and AI collaborate.

This role is perfect for someone who loves building, learning, and pushing boundaries a hands-on candidate who wants to see their work in the wild, solving real problems for real people.

Relentlessness is the most important quality

If you think you’re missing relevant experience but you’re a fast learner who’s excited for a new challenge – and you have the intangibles our team is looking for – please reach out. As long as you’re resourceful and a fast learner (and you can prove it to our team) we would love to meet you.

Compensation & Perks

Salary: $120k – $180k base + meaningful equity + benefits.
Gorgeous office in Jackson Square, San Francisco (rooftop views & great coffee shops nearby).