Forward Deployed Engineering Manager

Cresta is on a mission to turn every customer conversation into a competitive advantage by unlocking the true potential of the contact center. Our platform combines the best of AI and human intelligence to help contact centers discover customer insights and behavioral best practices, automate conversations and inefficient processes, and empower every team member to work smarter and faster. Born from the prestigious Stanford AI lab, Cresta's co-founder and chairman is Sebastian Thrun , the genius behind Google X, Waymo, Udacity, and more. Our leadership also includes CEO, Ping Wu , the co-founder of Google Contact Center AI and Vertex AI platform, and co-founder, Tim Shi , an early member of Open AI. Join us on this thrilling journey to revolutionize the workforce with AI. The future of work is here, and it's at Cresta. About the role: At Cresta, shipping AI is only half the story. Deploying it successfully is where the real impact happens. As Forward Deployed Engineering Manager , you'll lead the team that turns cutting-edge AI into real-world customer success. You'll build, mentor, and scale a world-class team of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) who work directly with customers to deliver AI agents that solve practical business problems and drive measurable outcomes. This is a high-impact leadership role for someone who loves building teams, refining processes, and driving product excellence through deep customer engagement. You'll be at the intersection of engineering, product, and go-to-market — ensuring that Cresta delivers exceptional value at scale. Travel Expectations: 10-25% travel for customer visits, team offsites, and company events This role is perfect for someone who: Has been in the trenches as an FDE or similar customer-facing engineering role and wants to scale that impact through leadership Thrives on building high-performing teams and developing talent Loves turning customer insights into product improvements Gets energized by complex deployments, ambiguous problems, and fast-paced environments Believes that engineering excellence and customer obsession go hand-in-hand Why You'll Love This Role:  High impact, high visibility : You'll own one of the most strategic functions at Cresta — the team that turns AI into customer success Build something new : FDE at Cresta is still being defined. You'll shape the function, the culture, and the playbook Work with cutting-edge AI : You'll be hands-on with state-of-the-art AI agents, LLMs, and enterprise deployments at scale Develop world-class talent : You'll recruit and mentor some of the best engineers in the industry Influence product strategy : Your insights will directly shape what Cresta builds and how we win in enterprise Collaborate with the best : You'll work alongside world-class teams across product, engineering, and go-to-market Move fast, see impact : This isn't a slow-moving enterprise role. You'll ship fast, iterate, and see your work drive measurable customer outcomes What You'll Do : Build and Scale the FDE Team Recruit top talent : Own hiring strategy and execution for FDEs, building a diverse team of engineers who blend technical excellence with customer empathy Develop your team : Mentor FDEs through hands-on coaching, career development, and technical guidance Define the role : Evolve the FDE career ladder, competencies, and growth paths as the function matures Foster culture : Build a team culture grounded in ownership, customer-first mentality, and continuous learning Refine Processes and Drive Operational Excellence Optimize the customer lifecycle : Design and refine how FDEs engage across sales, implementation, and long-tail support Scale what works : Identify patterns in successful deployments and turn them into repeatable processes Balance speed and quality : Establish frameworks for scoping, prioritization, and delivery that enable FDEs to move fast without sacrificing quality Measure what matters : Define team metrics and KPIs tied to customer outcomes, deployment velocity, and product adoption Drive Product Improvements Be the voice of the customer : Synthesize customer feedback, pain points, and feature requests to inform product roadmap priorities Close the feedback loop : Partner closely with Product and Engineering teams to advocate for improvements that unlock enterprise value Build vs. buy vs. hack : Guide FDEs in making smart trade-offs between quick fixes, generalizable features, and platform investments Champion generalization : Push the team to build scalable solutions, not one-off customizations, while still delivering customer value quickly Lead Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner with Product : Work with PMs to translate customer insights into product strategy and roadmap decisions Align with Engineering : Collaborate with core engineering teams to ensure FDE-built features integrate seamlessly into the platform Enable Go-to-Market