Director, Field Engineering Emerging Enterprises & Startups
About this role
Databricks builds a unified platform that enables organizations to develop and scale data and AI applications, analytics, and agents. The Emerging Enterprises and Startups team focuses on driving adoption and customer success within this high-growth market segment. Leadership for this field engineering organization involves guiding multiple teams of technical leaders to shape strategy, drive execution, and scale customer impact.
Candidates stepping into this position will oversee approximately three to five leaders, translating market and technical trends into multi-month execution plans. Success in the role requires an executive who can build trusted customer relationships, partner closely with product and engineering stakeholders, and embed AI-driven tooling into organizational workflows. Individuals with deep technical expertise in data platforms and a proven background in scaling customer-facing technical organizations are well-suited for the position.
What you will do
- Lead a multi-team field engineering organization by directing strategy, operating models, and execution for the emerging enterprises and startups business area.
- Build and mentor a high-performing leadership team that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional technical talent.
- Translate market, competitive, and technical trends into clear priorities and multi-month strategic plans.
- Establish robust operating norms and inspection cadences to ensure visibility, accountability, and predictable execution across the organization.
- Forge trusted relationships with senior customer stakeholders to guide complex programs, critical escalations, and digital transformation roadmaps.
- Partner with go-to-market strategy, product, engineering, and sales leaders to shape company priorities and drive cross-functional initiatives.
- Leverage artificial intelligence and scalable tools to drive one-to-many organizational impact and streamline operations.
What you need
- Extensive experience leading technical customer-facing organizations within enterprise software, cloud, data, AI, or related environments.
- Demonstrated success in leading through managers and building a high-performing leadership team.
- Proven track record of recruiting exceptional talent, developing leaders, and evolving organizational structures for scale.
- Strong strategic and business judgment with the ability to connect customer insights to measurable business outcomes.
- Extensive experience designing and running operating models across multiple teams, portfolios, or segments.
- Executive-level customer-advisory skills for guiding complex technical transformations and critical escalations.
- Technical credibility across data platforms, analytics, AI, cloud architecture, governance, security, and networking.
- A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Nice to have
- Experience with Databricks or comparable data and AI platforms.
- Experience leading across multiple business units, countries, customer segments, or field engineering practices.
- Experience shaping broader go-to-market strategy, partner ecosystems, or product priorities.
- Experience building leadership pipelines, succession plans, and scalable talent systems.
- Experience using AI, automation, or analytics to transform organizational operating models.
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What scope does this director role oversee?
The role typically oversees a leadership team of approximately three to five leaders or an equivalent multi-team scope. Depending on the assignment, you may lead a broad business unit, multiple segments or countries, a major portfolio, or another strategically significant area.
What background is required in technical leadership?
Candidates must have extensive experience leading multi-team technical customer-facing organizations and managing through other leaders. This includes a proven track record of recruiting exceptional talent, developing leaders, and evolving organizational structures for scale.
What technologies and domains are central to the work?
The role requires strong technical credibility across data platforms, analytics, artificial intelligence, cloud architecture, governance, security, and networking. Familiarity with Databricks or comparable data and AI platforms is noted as a preferred qualification.