Forward Deployed Engineer
striiminc • United States - Remote
Posted: August 10, 2026
Job Description
About the Role
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.
Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & Implementation
- 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
Customer Partnership & Solution Architecture
- 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)
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Product Influence
- 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
Requirements
Experience & Background
- 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
Programming & Development
- 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)
Cloud & Data Ecosystem
- 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
Communication & Problem-Solving
- 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
- 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
Travel & Commitment
- Willingness and ability to travel up to 50%
- Commitment to building deep, long-lasting customer relationships through consistent engagement
Preferred Qualifications
- 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)
Technical Impact Areas
In this role, you will work on complex, high-impact technical challenges such as:
- Designing and implementing sub-second latency data pipelines at enterprise scale (100GB+/day throughput)
- Building fault-tolerant, highly available distributed systems across multi-cloud environments
- Optimizing Kubernetes clusters and containerized data workloads for cost and performance
- Creating reusable Java/Python libraries and frameworks to accelerate customer implementations
- Architecting real-time data solutions for digital transformation and AI enablement
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)
- The chance to contribute to and shape an upbeat, fully engaged culture
- Work with enterprise customers on transformational technical challenges
- Significant influence on product strategy and roadmap development
Compensation
$205,000 - $220,000 USD on an annualized basis. In addition to base pay, this role offers the opportunity to earn variable-based rewards.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled.
Additional Content
About the Role
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.
Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & Implementation
- 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
Customer Partnership & Solution Architecture
- 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)
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Product Influence
- 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
Requirements
Experience & Background
- 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
Programming & Development
- 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)
Cloud & Data Ecosystem
- 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
Communication & Problem-Solving
- 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
- 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
Travel & Commitment
- Willingness and ability to travel up to 50%
- Commitment to building deep, long-lasting customer relationships through consistent engagement
Preferred Qualifications
- 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)
Technical Impact Areas
In this role, you will work on complex, high-impact technical challenges such as:
- Designing and implementing sub-second latency data pipelines at enterprise scale (100GB+/day throughput)
- Building fault-tolerant, highly available distributed systems across multi-cloud environments
- Optimizing Kubernetes clusters and containerized data workloads for cost and performance
- Creating reusable Java/Python libraries and frameworks to accelerate customer implementations
- Architecting real-time data solutions for digital transformation and AI enablement
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)
- The chance to contribute to and shape an upbeat, fully engaged culture
- Work with enterprise customers on transformational technical challenges
- Significant influence on product strategy and roadmap development
Compensation
$205,000 - $220,000 USD on an annualized basis. In addition to base pay, this role offers the opportunity to earn variable-based rewards.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled.