Forward-Deployed Engineer

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in China.

📋 Description

• Collaborate with operations teams and internal stakeholders for extended periods to gain insights into intricate freight and supply-chain processes.

• Convert vaguely defined business challenges into precise technical solutions, determining when to enhance existing functionalities and when to create new ones.

• Transform manual, spreadsheet-driven, and inbox-based decision-making into automated platform logic, progressively enabling AI to manage these tasks.

• Develop and implement prototypes, automations, and production-ready features, ensuring integration with internal Zencargo services, carrier platforms, and third-party APIs.

• Leverage AI and contemporary development tools to expedite delivery while making them integral to the solutions you create.

• Handle both structured and unstructured data, encompassing emails, documents, purchase orders, shipment information, and operational events.

• Evaluate and assess solutions against real workflows and user feedback, aiming for decreased manual effort, enhanced accuracy, expedited processing, and a more efficient business operation.

• Recognize patterns within challenges and assist in translating them into reusable functionalities on the platform.

• Work in close collaboration with Product, Design, core Engineering, as well as our Data and Infrastructure teams who will support your initiatives, while maintaining accountability for delivery.

• Clearly communicate technical decisions, limitations, and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including executives.

• Uphold high standards for security, reliability, data protection, and maintainability, and assist in the implementation and initial adoption of solutions.

⛳️ Requirements

• Extensive professional experience in software engineering throughout the complete lifecycle, adept at taking a problem from discovery to independently developing, deploying, and managing it in production.

• Proficient in at least one modern programming language, such as TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Java, Kotlin, or C#. Familiarity with Kotlin or Python, our primary languages, is appreciated but not mandatory.

• Experience in building and utilizing APIs, webhooks, and system integrations.

• Background in working with databases, data models, and event-driven workflows.

• Proficient use of AI-assisted development tools is crucial for how you build; this is a key aspect of the role.

• Strong product judgment: quickly comprehends unfamiliar business processes, integrates with a team to identify key elements, and distinguishes immediate user requests from underlying issues.

• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and making sound decisions without awaiting perfect requirements, with a proactive approach towards action, experimentation, and iterative delivery.

• Confidence in direct interactions with operational users and senior stakeholders, collaborating across Product, Design, Engineering, and our Data and Infrastructure teams, while conveying technical concepts in clear, practical terms.

• Strong sense of ownership, including accountability for whether the solution meets the intended goals, not just for code delivery.

• Good grasp of software quality, observability, testing, security, and maintainable architecture.

• Experience in freight, logistics, or supply chain, or in another B2B SaaS or operational technology context.

• Familiarity with building workflow automation or orchestration, using tools such as n8n.

• Experience with large language model applications and unstructured-data challenges, such as document extraction or email classification.

• Experience integrating with ERP, transport management, warehouse management, or internal operational systems.

• Background in solutions engineering, implementation, internal tools, or forward-deployed roles, including transforming bespoke solutions into products.

• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure, Terraform, CI/CD, and production support, ideally within an early-stage or high-growth setting.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.

• Flexible working arrangements, including remote work options.

• Opportunities for professional development and career advancement.

• Supportive and collaborative team environment.

• Access to cutting-edge tools and technologies.