Sr. Engagement Manager, FDE

FDE Times; München; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks is seeking a Senior Engagement Manager to lead and scale the Forward Deployed Engineering motions across a Business Unit or region. You will partner with executives and account teams, combining technical credibility with commercial impact to drive platform expansion.

This quota-carrying role requires deep data/AI expertise, architecture depth, and the ability to translate designs into measurable business value, with travel approximately 20% of the time.

Qualifications

• Strong background in customer-facing roles including consulting, solutioning, and executive engagement.
• Deep industry expertise with ability to speak the language of customers and demonstrate relevant use cases.
• Extensive experience in Professional Services sales and delivery leadership in Data & AI domain.
• Solid technical knowledge of data and AI platforms with ability to scope and solution services engagements.
• Strong program management and delivery oversight skills to align cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Forward Deployed Engineering motion in your region, aligning with Sales, Delivery, and Field Engineering leadership.
• Drive adoption and expansion by positioning and selling FDE offerings from discovery through closing.
• Integrate services into platform deals to ensure measurable business outcomes.
• Engage in architecture discussions and guide customers toward successful implementations.
• Shape account strategies by aligning service offerings with client goals and transformation roadmaps.
• Collaborate with partners to co-sell and deliver integrated services.
• Demonstrate depth in data/AI platforms and lead technical conversations.
• Coach and mentor junior Engagement Managers.

Skills

Executive engagement

Consulting

Delivery leadership

Data & AI domain

Architecture discussions

Commercial impact

Job description

CSQ128R175

As a Senior Engagement Manager at Databricks, you will play a critical role in leading and scaling the Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) motion across a Business Unit or region. This position is ideal for someone who has been hands-on with data and AI technologies, understands architecture and delivery deeply, and now wants to transition into a customer-facing, sales-aligned leadership role. You will act as a trusted advisor to executives and a strategic partner to account teams, combining technical credibility with commercial impact.

This quota-carrying role goes beyond managing individual engagements — you will embed FDE into Databricks’ broader platform growth, ensuring our customers achieve measurable business value from their investments.

The impact you will have

• Lead the Forward Deployed Engineering motion in your region, aligning closely with Sales, Delivery, and Field Engineering leadership.
• Drive adoption and expansion by positioning and selling standard and customized Forward Deployed Engineering and training offerings from discovery through closing.
• Integrate services into platform deals, ensuring customers achieve measurable business outcomes.
• Act as the technical-commercial bridge: leverage your technical background to engage in architecture discussions, scope solutions, and guide customers toward successful implementations.
• Shape account strategies by aligning service offerings with client goals, transformation roadmaps, and long-term success.
• Collaborate with partners (GSIs, RSIs, cloud providers) to co-sell, develop joint account strategies, and deliver integrated services.
• Bring industry expertise to conversations with customers, demonstrating the art of the possible, creating demand, and building credibility as a trusted advisor.
• Demonstrate technical depth on Databricks and data/AI platforms to scope engagements, support solutioning, and lead technical conversations.
• Coach and mentor junior Engagement Managers, supporting peer development and best practice adoption.

What we look for

• Strong background in customer-facing roles, including consulting, solutioning, and executive engagement, with the ability to engage in architecture-level discussions and translate technical designs into business outcomes.
• Deep industry expertise with the ability to “speak the language” of customers and demonstrate relevant use cases.
• Extensive experience in Professional Services sales and delivery leadership, ideally in the Data & AI domain.
• Solid technical knowledge of data and AI platforms (preferably Databricks) with the ability to scope and solution services engagements.
• Strong program management and delivery oversight skills, with the ability to align cross-functional teams to customer outcomes.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and negotiation skills across executives, technical teams, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Travel to customers 20% of the time.

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

Benefits

At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region click here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.