Forward Deployed Software Engineer

Promise • Oakland, CA

61d • Hybrid

About The Position

We’re looking for a Forward Deployed Software Engineer who’s driven by impact, excited by challenge, and motivated by Promise’s mission: helping low-income families catch up on past-due bills and access the relief they deserve. This is not your typical engineering role. You’ll be on the front lines—working hand-in-hand with utilities and government partners, solving complex integration challenges, and making sure our technology actually delivers where it matters most: in people’s lives. You’ll bring strong technical fundamentals together with empathy, patience, and the kind of customer savvy that turns a deployment into a long-term partnership. Impact in Action In Washington State, Promise distributed $100M of energy aid in just three months, reaching nearly 700,000 households. In Virginia and Florida, we helped ensure millions of dollars in water assistance funds reached families who might have otherwise gone without. Our AI-powered eligibility verification now cuts approval times for programs like SNAP and LIHEAP from weeks to hours. As a Forward Deployed Software Engineer, you’ll be on the front lines making this kind of impact possible.

Requirements

• Engineering chops: 4+ years of experience building and deploying production software, with fluency in environments that require adaptability and fast learning.
• Customer instincts: Experience in a customer-facing technical role where you balanced empathy with technical rigor.
• Tools of the trade: We use JavaScript / TypeScript, ETL tools, SQL, React – you don’t need to be an expert on any of these! You do need to come with a willingness to learn.
• Curiosity & grit: You don’t wait for someone to tell you the answer—you explore, experiment, and document so others can follow.
• Collaboration: This is a cross-functional role where you will be working across engineering, design, product, delivery, and sales. FDEs work across team boundaries to get things done.

Responsibilities

• Be the bridge: Work directly with utilities and government agencies to integrate Promise’s payment and relief products into their existing systems.
• Problem-solve in the wild: Dive into customer environments, untangling complexity and crafting creative technical solutions that actually work in the real world.
• Level up the product: Improve Promise’s products -- you will have the first hand context of what works and doesn't, if you see something to build, build it!
• Travel occasionally: Join customers on-site to make sure things run smoothly and strengthen our relationships in person.

Benefits

• 100% paid health coverage
• Generous PTO and sick leave
• Lunch, snacks, and coffee provided
• Company retreats
• Opportunities to travel and see the impact of your work
• Hybrid work: we deeply value in-person collaboration and are in-office at least 3 days a week, but are flexible on working from home

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed