📍 Job Overview

Job Title: DevOps Engineer
Company: Forethought
Location: San Francisco, California, United States (Remote)
Job Type: Hybrid (Remote & On-site)
Category: DevOps Engineer
Date Posted: 2025-06-18

🚀 Role Summary

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought is a hyper-growth startup revolutionizing enterprise customer support with AI-native platforms. As a DevOps Engineer, you'll play a pivotal role in managing and improving their cloud infrastructure, ensuring high availability and scalability for their AI agents resolving billions of monthly support issues.
Design, implement, and manage environments in Kubernetes and AWS, driving better deployment and management processes.
Collaborate closely with engineers and project managers to ensure smooth operations and continuous improvement.
Provide during- and after-hours support, troubleshooting distributed systems, and maintaining installation and configuration procedures.

💻 Primary Responsibilities

📝 Enhancement Note: Your technical expertise will be crucial in architecting, implementing, and managing Forethought's environments, enabling their AI agents to resolve billions of monthly support issues efficiently and reliably.
📝 Enhancement Note: Your strong communication skills will be vital in working closely with engineers and project managers, ensuring everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.
📝 Enhancement Note: Your ability to provide excellent support during and after hours will be essential in maintaining Forethought's high standards for customer support.
📝 Enhancement Note: Your proficiency in designing and troubleshooting distributed systems will be invaluable in ensuring the stability and scalability of Forethought's AI agents.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. Relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

Experience: 3+ years in a DevOps Engineering role or similar.

Required Skills:

Proven experience with AWS services (EC2, EKS, Elasticache, RDS, OpenSearch, etc.)
Experience with container management platforms (Kubernetes) and GitOps tools (Fluxcd)
Proficiency in Python or Golang
In-depth experience building CI pipelines from the ground up
Expertise in managing cloud-based infrastructure and designing distributed systems
Strong communication skills, both written and spoken
Familiarity with Git workflow

Preferred Skills:

Experience with data infrastructure (Spark, EMR on EKS, Dagster, DBT)
Familiarity with AI and machine learning concepts

📊 Web Portfolio & Project Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Demonstrate your experience with AWS services, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools through relevant projects.
Showcase your ability to design, implement, and manage environments by providing examples of your work.
Highlight your problem-solving skills and experience with distributed systems through case studies or projects.
Include examples of your CI/CD pipelines and how you've optimized them for better performance and reliability.

Technical Documentation:

Document your processes and procedures for managing and improving environments, ensuring they are clear and easy to understand.
Include any relevant diagrams, flowcharts, or other visual aids to illustrate your points.
Demonstrate your understanding of data infrastructure by including any relevant documentation for data processing or machine learning projects.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $120,000 - $180,000 per year (Based on market research for DevOps Engineers in San Francisco with 3-5 years of experience)

Benefits:

Equity in a hyper-growth startup
Competitive medical, dental, and vision coverage
Paid maternity, paternity, and adoption leave
Unlimited paid time off
Ability to work remotely or in-office, choosing where you get your best work done

Working Hours: 40 hours per week, with the possibility of working during and after hours to provide support as needed.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Forethought operates in the AI and machine learning space, focusing on enterprise customer support. Their AI agents resolve billions of monthly support issues for leading companies like Upwork, Grammarly, Airtable, and Datadog.

Company Size: Forethought is a hyper-growth startup with a low ego company culture obsessed with feedback and helping each other grow. They have raised over $115M in venture funding and are trusted by leading companies.

Founded: 2018

Team Structure:

Forethought's DevOps team works closely with engineers and project managers to ensure smooth operations and continuous improvement.
The team is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing environments in Kubernetes and AWS, driving better deployment and management processes.
The team provides during- and after-hours support, troubleshooting distributed systems, and maintaining installation and configuration procedures.

Development Methodology:

Forethought uses Agile methodologies for development, with a focus on collaboration, continuous improvement, and delivering value to customers.
The team uses Git for version control and GitOps tools (Fluxcd) for automated deployment and management of environments.
Forethought emphasizes excellent communication, both written and spoken, to ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.

Company Website: Forethought

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Web Technology Career Level: Mid-Level DevOps Engineer

Reporting Structure: Reports directly to the Engineering Manager, working closely with engineers and project managers.

Technical Impact: As a DevOps Engineer at Forethought, you'll have a significant impact on the stability, scalability, and performance of their AI agents, ensuring they can resolve billions of monthly support issues efficiently and reliably.

Growth Opportunities:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought is a hyper-growth startup, offering ample opportunities for career progression and technical skill development.
Contribute to Forethought's success and growth, and you'll have the chance to take on more responsibilities and advance your career within the company.
As Forethought continues to expand, there will be opportunities to specialize in specific areas, such as data infrastructure or AI/ML, and take on more senior roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid (Remote & On-site)

Office Location(s): San Francisco, California, United States (Remote work is also an option)

Workspace Context:

Forethought's workspace is designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and growth. They offer a flexible work environment, allowing employees to choose where they get their best work done.
The team uses modern tools and technologies to ensure everyone can work efficiently and effectively, regardless of location.
Forethought's low ego company culture encourages open communication, feedback, and continuous learning, creating an environment where everyone can thrive.

Work Schedule: 40 hours per week, with the possibility of working during and after hours to provide support as needed. Forethought offers unlimited paid time off, allowing employees to take time off when they need it.

📄 Application & Technical Interview Process

Interview Process:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought's interview process is designed to assess your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit. Be prepared to discuss your experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools, as well as your approach to designing and managing distributed systems.
Technical assessment: Demonstrate your proficiency in AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools by completing a hands-on technical assessment.
System design discussion: Showcase your ability to design and manage distributed systems by discussing a complex system design problem and explaining your approach to solving it.
Cultural fit assessment: Discuss your experience working in a collaborative, low ego company culture, and how you've contributed to the success of your previous teams.
Final evaluation: Based on your performance in the previous steps, Forethought will make a final decision about your fit for the role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought is looking for candidates who can demonstrate their experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools through relevant projects and case studies.
Highlight your ability to design, implement, and manage environments, as well as your experience with CI/CD pipelines and distributed systems.
Include any relevant documentation or visual aids to illustrate your points and make your portfolio easy to understand.

Technical Challenge Preparation:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought's technical challenges are designed to assess your problem-solving abilities and technical skills. Be prepared to tackle complex problems and explain your approach to solving them clearly and concisely.
Familiarize yourself with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools, and be ready to discuss your experience with them in depth.
Practice explaining technical concepts and ideas clearly and concisely, as effective communication is crucial for success in this role.

ATS Keywords:

AWS
Kubernetes
GitOps
Python
Golang
CI/CD
Cloud Infrastructure
Distributed Systems
Communication
Git Workflow
Data Infrastructure
Spark
Dagster
DBT

🛠 Technology Stack & Web Infrastructure

Frontend Technologies: N/A (This role focuses on backend and infrastructure)

Backend & Server Technologies:

AWS (EC2, EKS, Elasticache, RDS, OpenSearch, etc.)
Kubernetes
GitOps tools (Fluxcd)
Python
Golang

Development & DevOps Tools:

Git
CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, CircleCI)
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation)
Monitoring and logging tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack)
Container registry (e.g., Docker Hub, Amazon ECR)

👥 Team Culture & Values

Web Development Values:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought's web development values are centered around collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning. They emphasize open communication, feedback, and a low ego company culture.
User-focused design and development
Performance optimization and scalability
Code quality and maintainability
Collaboration and knowledge sharing

Collaboration Style:

Forethought's collaboration style is characterized by open communication, feedback, and a low ego company culture.
The team uses modern tools and technologies to ensure everyone can work efficiently and effectively, regardless of location.
Forethought encourages knowledge sharing, technical mentoring, and continuous learning, creating an environment where everyone can thrive.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Technical Challenges:

📝 Enhancement Note: As a DevOps Engineer at Forethought, you'll face technical challenges related to managing and improving their cloud infrastructure, ensuring high availability and scalability for their AI agents.
Designing and implementing better processes for deployment and management of environments
Troubleshooting distributed systems and maintaining installation and configuration procedures
Improving architecture and processes, and writing great documentation
Working closely with engineers and project managers to ensure smooth operations and continuous improvement

Learning & Development Opportunities:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought offers ample opportunities for career progression and technical skill development. As a hyper-growth startup, they encourage employees to take on new challenges and expand their skillsets.
Contribute to Forethought's success and growth, and you'll have the chance to take on more responsibilities and advance your career within the company.
As Forethought continues to expand, there will be opportunities to specialize in specific areas, such as data infrastructure or AI/ML, and take on more senior roles.

💡 Interview Preparation

Technical Questions:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought's technical questions are designed to assess your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit. Be prepared to discuss your experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools, as well as your approach to designing and managing distributed systems.
Can you walk us through your experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools? How have you used them to manage and improve cloud infrastructure in previous roles?
How do you approach designing and managing distributed systems? Can you discuss a complex system design problem you've faced in the past and how you solved it?
How do you ensure the stability and scalability of distributed systems? Can you discuss any specific strategies or tools you've used to monitor and optimize performance?

Company & Culture Questions:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought's company and culture questions are designed to assess your cultural fit and understanding of their mission and values. Be prepared to discuss your experience working in a collaborative, low ego company culture, and how you've contributed to the success of your previous teams.
What attracts you to Forethought and our mission to revolutionize enterprise customer support with AI-native platforms?
How do you approach collaboration and knowledge sharing in a remote or hybrid work environment? Can you discuss any specific strategies or tools you've used to foster a productive and inclusive team culture?

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

📝 Enhancement Note: Forethought's portfolio presentation strategy is designed to assess your ability to communicate your technical skills and achievements clearly and concisely. Be prepared to discuss your experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools, as well as your approach to designing and managing distributed systems.
When presenting your portfolio, focus on the projects and case studies that demonstrate your experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools, as well as your ability to design, implement, and manage environments.
Use clear and concise language to explain your approach to solving technical problems, and be ready to answer questions about your work.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this DevOps Engineer position at Forethought:

Submit your application through the application link provided.
📝 Enhancement Note: Customize your resume and portfolio to highlight your relevant experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools, as well as your ability to design, implement, and manage environments.
📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare for the technical assessment by brushing up on your skills with AWS, Kubernetes, and GitOps tools, and practicing your problem-solving abilities.
📝 Enhancement Note: Research Forethought's company culture and values, and be ready to discuss your fit for their low ego, collaborative team environment.
📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare for the system design discussion by familiarizing yourself with complex system design problems and practicing your approach to solving them.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and web development industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with Forethought before making application decisions.

DevOps Engineer