Sr. Deployment Strategist, FDE - Manufacturing & High-Tech
About this role
Bridging the gap between complex multi-million-dollar customer problems and technical solutions, this role tackles high-value AI opportunities within the manufacturing and high-tech sectors. As part of a new strategic forward-deployed engineering initiative, you will act as the product manager for customer engagements, owning the technical and product direction from initial discovery to production launch.
You will work embedded with strategic customers alongside engineering partners, defining minimum viable products, authoring product requirements, and guiding agile delivery processes. Candidates who combine executive presence, deep product thinking, technical fluency, and a hands-on delivery mindset will thrive in this environment.
What you will do
- Partner with sales teams to perform deep discovery, map customer organizations, quantify business value, and define pilot scopes with clear success criteria.
- Author product requirement documents, prioritize engineering backlogs, manage project scope, and act as the primary hands-on quality assurance tester.
- Drive forward-deployed engineering build teams through agile delivery processes while unblocking technical and organizational bottlenecks.
- Lead technical discovery and design reviews to evaluate data flows, integration points, platform constraints, and operational environments.
- Manage launch operations and war rooms to shepherd solutions from initial deployment to full user adoption and proven business value.
- Codify reusable solution patterns and translate field insights back into core product and engineering roadmaps.
What you need
- Demonstrate strong executive presence and communication skills to serve as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders.
- Apply product judgment to define requirements, prioritize engineering work, and lead complex agile software projects to measurable outcomes.
- Possess technical fluency across modern data and AI architectures, cloud platforms, data pipelines, distributed systems, and machine learning patterns.
- Maintain hands-on technical ability in at least one programming language such as Python, Java, or SQL to review code and build prototypes.
- Bring at least 7 years of experience delivering complex, customer-facing data, analytics, AI, or software engagements.
- Willingness to work onsite with customers approximately 25 to 50 percent of the time.
Nice to have
- Experience as a founder or technical builder
- Background in a high-growth technology company or forward-deployed organization
- Experience working in leading consultancies
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the expected travel requirement for this role?
The role requires working onsite with customers often between 25% and 50% of the time, and sometimes higher.
What is the compensation range for the position?
The expected base salary range is $219,765 to $302,220 USD, depending on factors such as job-related skills, depth of experience, and location zone.
What technical skills are needed for day-to-day work?
You need proficiency in at least one language such as Python, Java, or SQL to explore data, work in notebooks, and review code and pipelines.
What is the primary mission of the team?
The forward-deployed engineering team is a strategic initiative focused on winning C-suite-sponsored, high-value AI opportunities by selling and delivering outcomes rather than just a platform.