Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
Forward Deployment Engineer roles sit at a distinctive intersection in SaaS, translating a product’s core capabilities into working outcomes inside real customer environments. This listing stands out because it is tied to a specific product area, Nova, and to the practical realities of deploying and integrating software where data, networking, and security constraints matter. In SaaS terms, it is a clear “edge of product” position where adoption and product maturity are shaped by what happens in the field.
For a long-term SaaS career, this kind of work builds unusually broad systems intuition. It combines API and data fluency with the operational knowledge that often separates prototypes from dependable platforms. The feedback loop is also valuable: patterns observed across deployments can inform documentation, integration tooling, and product decisions, creating experience that transfers to solutions engineering, platform engineering, or product-facing technical roles across SaaS.
This role tends to fit engineers who like owning an end-to-end thread from discovery to production, and who communicate comfortably across technical and non-technical stakeholders. It also suits professionals motivated by repeatability: turning one-off customer needs into scalable integration approaches, while staying grounded in reliability and real-world constraints.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
Who is Flock?
Flock is the leading safety technology platform, helping communities thrive by taking a proactive approach to crime prevention and security. Our hardware and software suite connects cities, law enforcement, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods in a nationwide public-private safety network. Trusted by over 5,000 communities, 4,500 law enforcement agencies, and 1,000 businesses, Flock delivers real-time intelligence while prioritizing privacy and responsible innovation.
We’re a high-performance, low-ego team driven by urgency, collaboration, and bold thinking. Working at Flock means tackling big challenges, moving fast, and continuously improving. It’s intense but deeply rewarding for those who want to make an impact.
With nearly $700M in venture funding and a $7.5B valuation, we’re scaling intentionally and seeking top talent to help build the impossible. If you value teamwork, ownership, and solving tough problems, Flock could be the place for you.
The Opportunity
As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Flock Safety, you’ll play a critical role in bringing our technology to life for customers facing complex, real-world challenges. This role exists to bridge the gap between our product and the environments in which it operates—ensuring our solutions are effectively deployed, integrated, and delivering impact from day one.
You’ll join our Nova team, which is building a “single pane of glass” for investigators to collect, connect, and act on critical data more efficiently. As demand for this product grows, we’re looking for an engineer who can help scale and accelerate high-quality integrations with customer systems.
You’ll work directly with customers to understand their technical environments, design tailored solutions, and drive successful deployments—while also influencing how our product evolves over time.
The Skillset
We’re looking for engineers who thrive at the intersection of technical execution and customer collaboration. In this role, you’ll succeed if you bring:
A strong foundation in software engineering, with proficiency in languages like Python, Java, C++, or JavaScript
Experience working with SQL, including writing efficient queries and optimizing performance
Familiarity with RESTful APIs, authentication methods, and request/response structures
Working knowledge of networking fundamentals such as VPNs, firewalls, IP whitelisting, and SSL/TLS
Experience with Git and collaborative development workflows
Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and containerization tools like Docker or Kubernetes
Comfort working with common data formats such as JSON, XML, and CSV
Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking skills
Clear communication skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences
A willingness to travel (25–50%) and work closely with customers onsite
Bonus points if you have experience in data analysis, machine learning, DevOps practices, or prior client-facing/consulting roles.
Feeling uneasy that you haven’t ticked every box? That’s okay; we’ve felt that way too. Studies have shown women and minorities are less likely to apply unless they meet all qualifications. We encourage you to break the status quo and apply to roles that would make you excited to come to work every day.
90 Days at Flock
We prescribe to 90 day plans and believe that good days lead to good weeks, which lead to good months. This serves as a preview of the 90 day plan you will receive if you were to be hired in this role at Flock.
The First 30 Days
Build a strong foundation across Flock’s platform, the Nova product, and our customer environments. You’ll ramp on our systems, tools, and deployment processes while forming relationships across engineering and customer-facing teams. During this time, you’ll shadow customer calls and deployments to develop empathy for user needs, begin contributing small code changes, and get hands-on experience with our integration workflows.
The First 60 Days
Start taking ownership of integrations and customer interactions. You’ll independently configure and deploy repeatable integrations, troubleshoot connectivity and data issues, and begin leading technical discovery sessions with customers. You’ll deepen your understanding of how our platform fits into diverse customer environments and contribute improvements to documentation and integration processes.
90 Days & Beyond
Operate as an independent owner of end-to-end customer integrations. You’ll lead deployments from discovery through production, act as a trusted technical partner to customers, and ensure integrations are stable and scalable. You’ll also contribute to improving our data pipelines, identify product gaps based on real-world usage, and help evolve our internal processes to support continued growth.
Salary & Equity
In this role, you’ll receive a starting salary between $100,000 and $130,000 as well as Flock Stock Options. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, and market indicators. Flock does not offer bonuses. Your recruiter will discuss this in-depth with you during our first chat.
The Perks
🌴 Flexible PTO: We seriously mean it, plus 11 company holidays.
⚕️Fully-paid health benefits plan for employees: including Medical, Dental, and Vision and an HSA match.
👪 Family Leave: All employees receive 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 6-8 weeks of physical recovery time.
🍼 Fertility & Family Benefits: We have partnered with Maven, a complete digital health benefit for starting and raising a family. In 2025, Flock will provide a $50,000 lifetime maximum benefit related to eligible adoption, surrogacy, or fertility expenses.
💖 Caregiver Support: We have partnered with Cariloop to provide our employees with caregiver support
💸 Carta Tax Advisor: Employees receive 1:1 sessions with Equity Tax Advisors who can address individual grants, model tax scenarios, and answer general questions.
💚 ERGs: We want all employees to thrive and feel like they belong at Flock. We offer four ERGs today - Women of Flock, Flock Proud, LEOs and Melanin Motion. If you are interested in talking to a representative from one of these, please let your recruiter know.
💻 WFH Stipend: $150 per month to cover the costs of working from home.
📚 Productivity Stipend: $300 per year to use on Audible, Calm, Masterclass, Duolingo and so much more.
🏠 Home Office Stipend: A one-time $750 to help you create your dream office.
🐾 Pet Insurance: We’ve partnered with Pumpkin to provide insurance for our employee’s fur babies.
If an offer is extended and accepted, this position requires the ability to obtain and maintain Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) certification as a condition of employment. Applicants must meet all FBI CJIS Security Policy requirements, including a fingerprint-based background check.
Flock is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diverse backgrounds and thoughts and welcome everyone to apply for employment with us. We are committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive, transparent, and collaborative. Mutual respect is central to how Flock operates, and we believe the best solutions come from diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills. We embrace our differences and know that we are stronger working together.
If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at recruiting@flocksafety.com. This information will be treated as confidential and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.
At Flock, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. The range above is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future. This job posting may span more than one career level.
Flock is aware of fraudulent individuals and agencies falsely claiming to represent our company. All legitimate communication from Flock will come from an email address ending in @flocksafety.com. We do not make job offers through messaging apps, social platforms, or unauthorized third parties, and we will never request payment or sensitive personal information during the hiring process. If you encounter suspicious outreach related to a Flock role, please report it to recruiting@flocksafety.com
