Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) — AI & Solutions
Join us at Zendesk, where we're on a mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet. We're accelerating that ambition by building products rooted in AI, automation, and intelligent customer experiences, because behind every interaction lies an opportunity to make a human connection.
We’re hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our Technical Presales team. Where you’ll be an elite hybrid: part software engineer, part strategic consultant. You’ll do more than just sell the dream, you’ll execute what’s possible.
In this role you’ll be embedded with strategic customers to design, build, and deliver production-grade AI solutions that unlock measurable ROI. You’ll translate customer needs into robust integrations, architect LLM-powered workflows, and collaborate cross-functionally to turn real-world friction into product improvements.
You will play a vital role in growing Zendesk’s enterprise footprint by delivering high-impact, scalable AI deployments. Building trusted technical partnerships, delivering crisp, production-ready solutions, and amplifying Zendesk’s AI capabilities within complex, high-value accounts.
What you’ll be doing
Lead end-to-end technical delivery of AI agent and LLM-powered solutions: discovery, scoping, system design, PoC, production rollout, and operational handoff.
Build production-grade integrations and custom connectors (APIs, data pipelines, RAG systems) to surface high-quality signals into Zendesk AI workflows.
Troubleshoot and resolve escalated technical blockers across data, infra, and model behavior. Act as the field’s final line of defense for complex issues.
Collaborate closely with Sales engineering and product teams to map undocumented systems, define integration patterns, and implement solutions.
Translate customer learnings into product feedback and prioritized roadmap items; partner with Zendesk Product and Engineering to reduce future deployment friction.
What you bring to the role
Founder mindset: comfortable navigating ambiguity, mapping unknown systems, and delivering results without a predefined playbook.
Engineering rigor: 5+ years building production systems; strong software engineering fundamentals and attention to quality.
Full-stack fluency: experience across frontend (React/TypeScript), backend (Python / Node / Java / Ruby), REST/GraphQL APIs, and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
AI/LLM expertise: practical experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector stores, and evaluation/guardrails for model safety and reliability.
Systems integrator: proven ability to design secure data ingestion, ETL/data pipelines, and work with diverse data stores and message systems.
Excellent communicator: able to present trade-offs to executives and pair-program with customer engineers; strong written runbooks and documentation skills.
Travel readiness: willing to travel as needed to customer sites (typical range 25–50%).
Basic qualifications
5+ years software engineering experience delivering production systems.
Proficient in Python and JavaScript/TypeScript; experience with at least one backend language (Java, Ruby, or Go) preferred.
Hands-on experience deploying or integrating LLM-based solutions in production (RAG, vector DBs, model evaluation).
Practical experience with cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure) and containerized deployments (Docker, Kubernetes).
Comfortable working onsite with customers and traveling up to 50% as required.
Preferred qualifications
Prior FDE, Professional Services, Solutions Engineering, or Technical Account Management experience delivering enterprise AI or SaaS deployments.
Experience with specific LLM tooling and frameworks (LangChain, LlamaIndex, Haystack, or similar).
Familiarity with Zendesk products and APIs, or experience integrating customer support/contact-center platforms.
Background in observability and operationalization of ML/AI (monitoring, SLOs, cost controls, retraining pipelines).
Experience with data governance, PII handling, and enterprise security/compliance constraints.
The intelligent heart of customer experience
Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.
Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.
As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.
Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.
Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with your specific accommodation request.
Skills Required
- 5+ years software engineering experience delivering production systems
- Proficient in Python and JavaScript/TypeScript
- Hands-on experience deploying or integrating LLM-based solutions
- Practical experience with cloud platforms and containerized deployments
- Willing to travel up to 50% as required
Zendesk Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Zendesk and has not been reviewed or approved by Zendesk.
-
Fair & Transparent Compensation — The company states a commitment to publishing base pay ranges and advancing pay equity, helping employees gauge fairness. Public messaging on pay equity and transparency signals structured, consistent compensation practices.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time away programs include flexible PTO, dedicated well‑being days, emergency time off, and pregnancy loss leave. Parental leave is described as generous, and travel support exists for reproductive care where access is restricted.
-
Healthcare Strength — Benefits language highlights comprehensive medical, dental/vision, mental health access, and an employee assistance program. These offerings are positioned as part of holistic wellbeing support across regions.
Zendesk Insights
What We Do
Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love. We advocate for digital first customer experiences— and we stick with it in our workplace. Over 5,000 employees worldwide are collaborating from kitchen tables, home offices, co-working spaces, and Zendesk workspaces to make one team.
Why Work With Us
We know one desk doesn’t fit all. At Zendesk, we prioritize remote work because we believe great work happens anywhere. Digital first is more than where we work though. We give our employees flexibility and choice in both where and how they work while also trusting them to be a team player.
Gallery
