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AI·Series A·Redwood City, California

Senior Forward Deployed Engineer (Mandarin Fluency Required)

at Retell — AI

Location

Redwood City, California

Salary

$200,000 - $300,000

Type

Full-Time

About Retell

Retell AI is building the modern CX platform for enterprise contact centers, using first-principles voice AI to automate sales, support, and logistics calls at scale. Thousands of companies—including CVS/Aetna, American Airlines, Lenovo, and Grab—use Retell's AI voice agents to replace large teams of human agents, with the platform powering everything from frontline agents to QA analysts and managers. Backed by Y Combinator (W24), Alt Capital, and Carya Venture Partners, Retell claims $80M ARR as of August 2026 (public data: $60M+ as of April 2026), up from $5M at the start of 2025, and a valuation north of $1.5B. The team is 50 strong, with alumni from Stripe (payments lead), Google AI research, and Facebook product. The company has been recognized as a top AI app by a16z, #3 Fastest-Growing Software Company (G2 2026), and a member of the Nasdaq & Wing VC Enterprise Tech 30 (2026). The vision: a fully AI-powered contact center where intelligent agents continuously execute, monitor, and improve every customer interaction—no more basic automation that needs constant human tuning. The market believes: Retell is the fastest-growing voice AI company in the category, with real revenue, enterprise traction, and a reputation for technical depth.

retellai.com

Website

Series A • 51 – 200

Stage & size

Industry

2023

Founded

About This Role

This is a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer seat focused on delivering Retell's enterprise voice AI solutions to customers in China and globally. You will embed with client teams, lead end-to-end delivery from prototyping to production, and bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders. The role is customer-facing, highly technical, and requires fluency in both Mandarin and English to support China-based enterprise customers and partners.

You will build full-stack integrations (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript), partner with sales to gather requirements and present system designs, and codify reusable patterns into platform components. You will also translate field feedback into actionable product and GTM recommendations. The seat is in-office in Redwood City, CA, with occasional international travel to customer sites. Reports into the Applied AI team and partners closely with sales and product.

The founder's bar: exceptional communication, production-grade code, and the ability to drive adoption and shape the platform through direct customer insight. This is not a pure IC seat—it's a hybrid of engineering, solution architecture, and customer enablement, with high visibility and direct impact on Retell's enterprise growth.

Job Details

Experience

3-8 Years

Salary

$200,000 - $300,000

Visa Sponsorship

Yes

Employment Type

Full-Time

Work Arrangement

In office

Work Intensity

9-9-5

Benefits & Perks

$70/day Doordash Credit For Unlimited Meals

$200/month Wellness Reimbursement

$300/month Commuter Reimbursement

$75/month Phone Bill Reimbursement

$50/month Internet Reimbursement

Green Flags

Prior experience as a forward deployed or solutions engineer in a high-growth AI or SaaS company

Demonstrated Mandarin/English fluency in enterprise customer settings

Built and shipped integrations for enterprise clients (CRMs, ERPs, etc.)

Red Flags

No Mandarin fluency (hard pass for this seat)

Pure backend or IC with no customer-facing experience

No experience delivering production systems in ambiguous, fast-paced environments

Ideal Companies

Vapi

Sierra

Decagon

Required Candidate Q&A

Question 1

Are you fluent in both Mandarin and English (written and spoken)?

Question 2

Are you able to work in-person in Redwood City, CA, and open to occasional international travel?

Question 3

What is your current visa status, and are you open to US visa sponsorship if needed?

Question 4

Describe a time you delivered a production system for an enterprise customer in a fast-paced or ambiguous environment.

Question 5

Walk through a technical integration you built for a client—what was the hardest part, and how did you communicate progress and risks?

Question 6

How have you translated customer feedback into actionable product or GTM recommendations?

Question 7

What excites you about building voice AI solutions for enterprise customers, especially in China?

Candidate scorecard

· 10 criteria

2+ years in a customer-facing technical role

Fluent in both Mandarin and English (written and spoken)

Production-grade coding in Python and JavaScript/TypeScript