Joe Dukes

Our client builds AI agents trusted by the largest B2C companies in the world. Industry leaders trust them with their most complex support and operations workflows across voice, chat and email.About the RoleWe're seeking a Forward Deployed Agent Engineer to join our San Francisco team. You'll serve as the technical interface and project leader between our client and their customers, building and deploying sophisticated AI-driven solutions at scale.What You’ll Do:Lead customer engagements from start to end: run discovery calls & demos, align business/technical stakeholders on milestones, oversee the deployment/maintenance of world class agents, and serve as the primary PoC who drives meetings and removes blockers.Design & ship production-ready AI agents: work with large-scale data, write backend code, build integrations, and deploy to cloud infrastructure.Own the full agent development life cycle: prototype quickly, set up CI/CD, monitor live usage, iterate to targets, and document best practices to speed up future projects.Mentorship: Manage and mentor agent engineers to grow into project leaders, while maintaining an exceedingly high bar for excellence. Debug live issues in real-time, unlock business opportunities, and help win, retain, and grow customers.Close the feedback loop with product & platform: capture unmet needs, prototype new features, and collaborate with core teams to strengthen the platform for all customers.Who You Are / Must-Haves:Know the Stack: Understanding of React, Python, tool calls, APIs, etc.Interpersonally Acumen: Able to solve problems in a people-centric manner, communicate effectively, and operate with a low ego. Must have experience in customer-facing roles.Strong Background: Computer science degree or industry-equivalent experience and customer facing experience (e.g. consulting); 4 years of total managerial experience.Entrepreneurial: Preference for candidates with experience at successful startups - former founders are especially valued; ability to context switch constantly and rapidly; high bar for quality work.Gritty: Capable of working long productive hours; very high attention to detail; can own a project end-to-end with limited or no guidance.Experienced: 4 years customer facing experience; 4 years of hands-on engineering experience.Perks & BenefitsCompetitive total compensationEquinox membershipFull health, dental, and vision coverageOn-demand snacks, coffee, and DoorDash CreditsUbers covered home

We’re working with one of the fastest-growing teams in the Voice AI space, a seed-stage startup transforming how financial services engage customers in high-stakes, mission critical workflows. Already trusted by 6 of the top 15 U.S. mortgage banks, they’ve hit $2M ARR in just 8 months (on track for $3M) and are scaling at 43% month over month since their seed raise last November. With a Series A planned for early 2026, this is a rare opportunity to join a company just before it enters hypergrowth. With a lean team of engineers from Google, Meta, Apple and Stanford, they’re building AI systems that outperform humans in industries like mortgage, insurance and small business lending. Now, they’re looking for two exceptional Founding Engineers to own backend systems, drive product heavy initiatives and shape the technical foundation of a category-defining company. Location: San Francisco (4 days in-office, Market Street near Montgomery BART) Salary: Up to $270,000 Equity (0.2–1%) Key Responsibilities:Own Product at Scale: Scope, design, and ship backend systems tightly aligned with customer and product needs.Hands-On Engineering: Contribute directly to core backend services while driving product-focused design.Technical Leadership: Conduct code reviews, mentor peers, and set engineering quality standards.Product Collaboration: Partner with product owners and customers to translate requirements into scalable technical solutions.Founding-Level Impact: Take on initiatives that relieve bottlenecks from the CTO and define long-term product direction.What We’re Looking For:5 years backend engineering experience (5–15 typical).Depth across Python, Go, Java, C , etc. Not just JavaScript/TypeScript.Track record of scaling backend systems in production.Strong product sense and experience in early-stage startups (ideally first 1–6 engineers).Excellent communication skills: able to bridge product and engineering.Bonus Points For:FinTech, API-heavy, or backend-intensive product experience.Experience building agent-based systems.Prior 0→1 startup success.Python backend frameworks (FastAPI, Django).Why Join?World-class team: ex-FAANG engineers, top-tier universities, repeat founders.Hypergrowth: 43% MoM, millions in ARR.Timing: Join at seed-stage equity valuation, just before Series A.Cutting-edge tech: Voice AI that outperforms humans in mission-critical workflows.High ownership: Founding-level influence across product and engineering.This is a chance to step in at a pivotal moment, with proven product-market fit, massive customer demand, and the capital to scale. You’ll be part of a small, elite team solving some of the hardest problems in applied AI, while shaping both the product and the company’s future.