Sr. Deployment Strategist, FDE - Public Sector

The FDE (Forward Deployed Engineering) team is a new, strategic initiative sponsored by the CEO and Founders. Our mission is to win C-suite-sponsored, high-value AI opportunities by selling and delivering outcomes, not just a platform. You will be part of the founding team, embedded with our most strategic customers from the very first sales call through to a production-ready solution. You will be the 'product manager' for the customer's problem, responsible for the 'why' and 'what,' while our FDEs (Engineers) will be your partners responsible for the 'how.'

As a Deployment Strategist (DS), you are the critical bridge between a customer's multi-million-dollar business problem and Databricks' technical solution. You are a product manager for the field, owning the technical and product direction of the engagement from initial discovery through production launch and adoption. You will build C-suite trust, perform deep discovery to map the customer's political and technical landscape, and scope the value. You will define the Minimum Viable Product for a pilot, write the PRD that guides the engineering team, and manage the project to a successful landing. You will also lead technical discovery, shape solution architecture with FDEs, and ensure that each proposed solution can move from prototype to production. This role requires a rare combination of executive presence, deep product thinking, technical depth, and a hands-on delivery mindset.

• Partner with Sales to perform deep discovery, map the customer's organization, quantify the business value of $10M+ problems, and define the pilot, including its MVP, success criteria, and timeline.
• Author the PRD, prioritize the engineering backlog, manage scope, and act as the primary hands-on QA tester. Translate business requirements into clear data, integration, security, and operational requirements that engineers can build against.
• Drive the FDE build team through an agile delivery process, manage stakeholders from the C-suite to individual engineers, and unblock technical or organizational issues. Lead technical discovery and design reviews. Understand the customer's data flows, integrations, platform constraints, and operational environment; pressure-test architecture choices; and identify technical risks early.
• Own the 'Day 0' launch, manage the war room, and drive the solution from launch to full adoption by capturing user feedback, iterating, and proving the defined business value. Own production readiness across data quality, testing, security, performance, and operations. Work with the team to diagnose issues and drive them to resolution.
• Scope the ongoing maintenance plan, create customer documentation/training, and leverage your trusted advisor status to identify the next high-value FDE engagement. Codify reusable solution patterns and bring field insights back to Product and Engineering.

• Executive presence and excellent communication skills; you are a trusted advisor who can help senior stakeholders make difficult decisions.
• Product judgment: define what to build and why, write strong product requirements, prioritize engineering work, manage scope, and lead complex agile software projects from an ambiguous problem to a measurable outcome.
• Technical fluency: understand modern data and AI architectures, including cloud platforms, data pipelines, data models, distributed systems, APIs, security and governance, machine learning, and generative AI application patterns. Lead architecture discussions, evaluate trade-offs, and pressure-test technical decisions.
• Hands-on technical ability: proficient in at least one language such as Python, Java, or SQL. Explore data, work in notebooks, read and review code and pipelines, build or adapt prototypes, and contribute to troubleshooting.
• Typically 7+ years of experience delivering complex, customer-facing data, analytics, AI, or software engagements, or equivalent experience as a founder or technical builder. Experience in a high-growth technology company, forward-deployed organization, or leading consultancy is valuable.
• Enjoy working onsite with customers (often 25-50%, sometimes higher) to drive delivery.

Zone 2 Pay Range: $219,765—$302,220 USD. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors unique to each candidate, including job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. The total compensation package may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above.