Forward Deployed Engineer
About The Position
We are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to report to our Field CTO within the Engineering organization. This is a highly strategic and tactical, customer-facing role that sits at the intersection of customer success and technical excellence. You will partner with enterprise clients across the entire customer lifecycle—from pre-sales discovery and solution architecture through post-sales adoption, retention, expansion, and long-term success. While customer-facing, this is fundamentally a technical engineering position. You will spend 40-50% of your time writing code, architecting solutions, debugging complex distributed systems, and building production-grade integrations. The remaining time is spent collaborating with customers and internal teams to ensure technical success and business outcomes. You will serve as both a principal-level technical leader and a trusted customer advocate, ensuring our platform delivers measurable business value while shaping the future direction of our product. You will work closely with Sales & Field Engineering, Product, and Technical Account Management teams to architect and deliver complex, real-time data solutions across modern cloud and AI-driven ecosystems. This role requires up to 50% travel and a strong commitment to building deep, long-lasting customer relationships through consistent engagement.
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in customer-facing technical roles (e.g., Solutions Engineer, Solutions Architect, Forward Deployed Engineer, Field Engineer, Cloud Architect, or similar)
- Proven ability to own and deliver across the full customer lifecycle, from pre-sales through post-sales success
- Deep technical expertise with the ability to operate at a senior or principal level, including solution architecture and hands-on implementation
- Expert-level proficiency in Java and/or Python, with the ability to architect and implement production-grade systems
- Proficiency in at least one language required; proficiency in both highly valued
- Strong experience building distributed systems, APIs, and enterprise integrations
- Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, Helm)
- Deep experience with multi-cloud environments: AWS (EC2, Lambda, RDS, S3), GCP (Dataflow, BigQuery), and/or Azure (Synapse, Event Hubs)
- Expertise in real-time data streaming and data integration: Change Data Capture (CDC) technologies, Apache Kafka, Flink, Spark Streaming, Event-driven architectures
- Strong background with modern data platforms: Data warehousing (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Delta Lake, PostgreSQL), Kubernetes and distributed systems, AI/ML frameworks and analytics platforms (e.g., Databricks, Snowflake, Spark)
- Experience optimizing system performance and reliability at scale
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value for customers, convert business needs into clear technical requirements for product teams, and present technical solutions to both engineering and executive stakeholders
- Strong problem-solving skills and comfort operating in ambiguous, high-impact environments
- Ability to mentor customer engineering teams and share technical expertise
- Willingness and ability to travel up to 50%
- Commitment to building deep, long-lasting customer relationships through consistent engagement
Nice To Haves
- Experience working in a high-growth, venture-backed, or startup environment
- Prior success influencing product roadmaps based on direct customer engagement
- Background in data modernization, cloud adoption, and AI enablement platforms
- Demonstrated ability to build executive-level relationships with customer stakeholders
- Experience creating reusable frameworks, accelerators, solution templates, or developer tools
- Open source contributions to data streaming, integration, DevOps, or distributed systems projects
- Published technical writing, blog posts, or speaking engagements on distributed systems, data engineering, or cloud architecture
- Track record of building SDKs, APIs, or developer tools
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience)
Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end implementation of real-time data pipelines using CDC, Kafka, and related technologies; architect multi-cloud data solutions (AWS, GCP, Azure)
- Build custom connectors, integrations, and production-grade systems using Java and Python; architect APIs and data pipelines
- Design and optimize Kubernetes deployments and containerized data workloads for performance, cost, and reliability
- Debug and resolve complex technical issues across distributed systems, including backend, infrastructure, and data layers
- Create reusable Java/Python libraries, frameworks, and solution accelerators to extend impact across customer implementations
- Conduct technical code reviews, architecture assessments, and deep-dive technical sessions with customer engineering teams
- Serve as the primary technical partner to customers across the full lifecycle, from pre-sales discovery and solution architecture through post-sales adoption, expansion, and renewal
- Partner with Sales and Field Engineering to design and architect complex, enterprise-grade solutions tailored to customer needs
- Build and maintain trusted, long-term relationships with customer stakeholders through ongoing engagement, including on-site meetings and industry events
- Act as the technical point of escalation for customer challenges, ensuring timely resolution and continued success
- Design solutions for performance, scalability, and reliability in production environments at enterprise scale (100GB+/day throughput)
- Act as the voice of the customer, capturing insights and translating them into clear, actionable product requirements
- Collaborate with Product and Engineering teams to influence roadmap priorities and future feature development
- Translate business needs into highly technical concepts, bridging communication between customers and internal teams
- Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Field Engineering, Product, and Technical Account Management to deliver a seamless and unified customer experience
- Contribute to internal best practices, documentation, and scalable solution frameworks
Benefits
- Competitive salary and pre-IPO stock options
- Comprehensive health care plans (medical, dental and vision), including medical and dependent FSA
- Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
Associate degree
