Director, Solutions Engineer Forward Deployed - Splunk (Remote)
About The Position
The Director, Solutions Engineer Forward Deployed will build, scale, and lead a high-performing team of customer-embedded Forward Deployed Solution Engineers working across advanced AI deployments, cloud architectures, and mission-critical enterprise systems. The role focuses on accelerating customer business outcomes, compressing time-to-value, and delivering technical proof that supports durable account retention and customer expansion. The Director will hire, develop, and mentor engineering talent while fostering technical rigor, continuous learning, customer obsession, and extreme ownership. The role partners directly with customer C-level technology executives, enterprise architects, and Cisco/Splunk product engineering leadership. It also works across Sales, Product & Technology, Software Engineering, Customer Success, and Global Partners to translate real-world deployment telemetry into roadmap innovations and deliver tailored solutions for strategic global customers across the Americas. The team co-develops, integrates, and showcases prototype solutions using AI, the Cisco portfolio, and the Splunk Data Platform to address business challenges and accelerate production deployment. This position can be performed anywhere in the United States. The application window is expected to close on November 29, 2026; the posting also states November 10, 2026, and notes it may be removed earlier if the position is filled or enough applications are received. The job description does not apply to employees in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, or the Netherlands.
Requirements
- At least 10 years of professional experience in customer-facing pre-sales engineering, post-sales architecture, or professional services deploying distributed software and enterprise systems architectures; alternatively, a master’s degree plus 8 years or a Ph.D. plus 5 years.
- At least 5 years of direct people-management experience leading pre-sales, post-sales, or customer-embedded technical engineering teams driving business outcomes.
- At least 3 years of experience architecting, deploying, or managing AI, machine learning, or enterprise data-platform solutions in production environments.
- At least 3 years of experience designing and deploying distributed cloud-native, hybrid, or event-driven system architectures.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical professional experience.
Nice To Haves
- Experience leading multi-level or matrixed technical organizations and building, scaling, and inspiring high-performing engineering teams.
- At least 3 years of experience with Generative and Agentic AI architectures, machine learning platforms, container orchestration (Kubernetes), and event-driven data platforms.
- At least 5 years of experience architecting solutions using Cisco networking/security portfolios, the Splunk Data Platform, or equivalent premier enterprise software suites.
- Ability to establish trusted advisory relationships with customer C-level technology executives, including CTOs, CIOs, and CDOs, and lead executive technical briefings.
- Active industry certifications in Artificial Intelligence or Cloud platforms, paired with experience implementing customer-embedded forward-deployed engineering methodologies.
Responsibilities
- Build, scale, and lead a high-performing team of customer-embedded Forward Deployed Solution Engineers.
- Accelerate customer business outcomes, compress time-to-value, and deliver technical proof that supports account retention and customer expansion.
- Hire, develop, and mentor engineering talent.
- Foster a culture of technical rigor, continuous learning, customer obsession, and extreme ownership.
- Partner with customer C-level technology executives, enterprise architects, and Cisco/Splunk product engineering leadership.
- Translate real-world deployment telemetry into accelerated roadmap innovations.
- Collaborate with Sales, Product & Technology, Software Engineering, Customer Success, and Global Partners to deliver customer-focused solutions.
- Co-develop, integrate, and showcase prototype solutions that address critical business challenges and accelerate production deployment.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- 401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution
- Paid parental leave
- Short- and long-term disability coverage
- Basic life insurance
- Paid holidays
- Floating holiday for non-exempt employees
- Paid birthday day off
- Paid year-end holiday shutdown
- Personal wellness days
- Vacation time or flexible vacation time off, depending on employee classification
- Sick time off
- Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family issues
- Optional paid volunteer days
- Annual bonuses for non-sales roles, subject to Cisco policies
- Potential Cisco restricted stock unit grants, subject to eligibility and continued employment
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
