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Why I Joined Decagon

Posted on December 3, 2024

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Cynthia Chen is an engineer at Decagon. She joined Decagon in August 2024 and has been driving cross-functional engineering efforts that serve various enterprise customers.

"Why Decagon?"

This is the question I've been asked most since joining Decagon a few months ago. With countless startups and tech companies vying for talent, choosing where to build your future isn't easy. But when I focused on what truly mattered to me, Decagon stood out as the clear winner.

Building AI That Matters

As an engineer, I was looking for an opportunity where I could work at the cutting edge of AI agents while directly shaping customer experiences. I didn't want to be building systems that were abstracted many layers away from the end user. Decagon was the perfect environment for a product-minded engineer like me. At Decagon, my code directly and immediately impacts the millions of customers who interact with our AI agents every day, and I’m able to stay deeply connected to the customers we serve.

Since joining four months ago, I have had the opportunity to work closely with many of our enterprise partners, understanding how we can best alleviate their pain points and deliver a delightful experience for their customers. I've owned the launch of multiple customers on Decagon from inception to deployment, helping see through the enterprise deal process from start to finish. Being able to see the tangible impact of my work on real businesses and their customers has been incredibly rewarding.

Electric Atmosphere

From the moment I stepped into the Decagon office, I was struck by the electric energy of the team. Engineers were huddled over monitors debugging together, the sales team brainstormed strategies in the open, and product managers jumped between customer calls and engineering discussions. This vibrant atmosphere hasn't just persisted — it's intensified.

What makes Decagon unique is how seamlessly different teams blend together. There are no walls between the engineering, product, and go-to-market teams — we literally sit feet away from each other. Every win is everyone's win, whether it's closing a major customer deal or shipping a new product feature. This constant fusion of ideas and shared excitement has been one of the most energizing aspects of working here.

In a post-pandemic world where many companies have gone remote or hybrid, Decagon’s in-person culture stands out. With everyone in the office five days a week, there's a palpable excitement around building towards our shared mission. Ideas spark faster, problems get solved quicker, and innovations emerge from casual conversations. This intentional choice to work together has created an environment where creativity and execution thrive in real-time.

Moving at Light Speed

Speed isn't just a goal at Decagon — it's woven into our DNA. Where other companies might take months to ship, we move at a pace that feels almost supernatural. This blazing-fast execution has enabled us to scale rapidly, displacing incumbents and winning major deals in a fraction of the expected time. Working alongside Jesse and Ashwin, I've had a front-row seat to a masterclass in how to build and scale a company with precision and velocity.

The learning curve has been incredible. Within months, I've developed deep intuition for building and deploying state-of-the-art AI agent systems, grown through collaboration with our engineering team, and dramatically improved my ability to ship robust production systems efficiently. At previous companies, code could sit in review for weeks or months before reaching production. At Decagon, our feedback cycles are measured in days, not quarters, creating an environment where rapid iteration and constant improvement are the standard.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Not many startups can say this with confidence, but our team is truly top notch. Jesse and Ashwin are both second-time founders who exited their previous companies, the engineers are constantly pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI, and the sales team moves like a well-oiled machine. It has been an absolute privilege to work alongside such talented individuals who are all driven by the same mission.

Joining Decagon has been a dream come true for me. If you’re looking to be a part of the next chapter of AI agents and work on some of the most interesting technical problems with a world-class team, come join us!

“With Decagon Voice, we’re able to combine high performance and seamless brand customization with cross-channel memory, ensuring every interaction is connected and true to Chime’s member-first values.”
Janelle Sallenave
Chief Operating Officer

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There are very few places where you can prototype with frontier LLMs, ship to production in days, and watch users engage with the systems you built—all while owning the entire stack, from intent parsing and tool usage to API integration and observability. This role at Decagon is one of those places.

From my own experience working across both agent development and broader engineering initiatives at Decagon, I’ve seen firsthand how uniquely impactful this work can be. Whether I’m building intelligent workflows for customers or designing infrastructure that supports our agent platform, it’s rare to find an environment where the work transitions from concept to production within days, actively powering user experiences and transforming how businesses operate.

If you’re looking for a role where you can:

  • Build at the frontier of LLMs, automation, and user interaction
  • Deploy AI agents that solve high-value business use cases across industries including retail, travel and hospitality, fintech, edtech, and more
  • Work directly with customers on high-impact use cases
  • Ship fast, iterate constantly, and own your work from idea to production
  • Join a fast-moving, collaborative team solving real-world challenges with AI

We’d love to hear from you!

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