Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

Stratos; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Competitive salary

Access to execs

Healthcare

Pension

25 days leave

Work from abroad

Hybrid policy + visa sponsorship

Net-zero donations

Job summary

STRATOS is seeking a Senior Forward-Deployed Engineer to lead deployments for the world's largest industrial clients. You will own the technical side of client relationships, set architecture, ship to production, and grow the engineering team around you in a fast-growing startup.

You will code in Python, PySpark and SQL, design scalable data models, and lead production pipelines on Palantir Foundry and AIP. This role offers visa sponsorship and a hybrid London-based office.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in data engineering, software engineering or forward-deployed roles with production systems you're proud of.
• Proficient in Python, PySpark and SQL and able to design scalable data models.
• Experience leading client-facing technical work and communicating trade-offs to executives.
• Decisive with imperfect information and capable of backing decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead deployments end to end for one or more clients, from scoping with leadership to running production systems.
• Own the architecture for data pipelines, ontologies and AI workflows on Palantir Foundry and AIP.
• Be the technical lead in client rooms, communicating what's possible and what to build first.
• Grow FDEs around you through code reviews, pairing, and setting quality standards.
• Shape the roadmap with Product and founders, turning patterns across clients into reusable product features.

Skills

Python

PySpark

SQL

Data modeling

Client-facing

Decision making

Tools

Palantir Foundry

AIP

TypeScript

API development

SAP

Oracle

CRM data

Job description

About us

STRATOS builds the commercial digital twin that large industrial companies run on. We work with global B2B companies to synchronize strategy and execution and ensure commercial success is driven by potential, not gut feel or old data. STRATOS is a category-defining, rapidly growing startup, profitable and majority founder-owned with our Series A still ahead of us, funded by high-profile investors (e.g., Accel) and trusted by 15 global industrial leaders and Fortune 500 customers. Our software integrates complex datasets into a unified solution, combining deep data integration, best-in-class workflows, and cutting-edge generative AI.

The role

Lead the deployments that decide how some of the world's biggest industrial companies grow. As a Senior FDE, you own the technical side of a client relationship, set the architecture, ship to production and grow the engineers around you, with founders who stay close to the work.

What you'll do

• Lead deployments end to end for one or more clients, from scoping with their leadership to running production systems
• Own the architecture for data pipelines, ontologies and AI workflows on Palantir Foundry and AIP
• Be the technical lead in the room at client senior level: you're the engineer they trust to tell them what's possible and what to build first
• Grow the FDEs around you through code review, pairing and setting the bar for quality and speed
• Shape the roadmap with Product and our founders, turning patterns you see across clients into reusable product

You might be a fit if you

• Have 4+ years in data engineering, software engineering or forward-deployed roles, with production systems you're proud of
• Write expert Python, PySpark and SQL, and design data models that hold up at scale
• Have led client-facing technical work and can explain trade-offs to executives
• Make good decisions quickly with imperfect information, and back them
• Want a big say in how a profitable, fast-growing company builds its engineering team

Nice to have

• Palantir Foundry or AIP in production
• TypeScript, API development or front-end work
• ERP (SAP, Oracle) or CRM data at enterprise scale
• Experience in specialty chemicals, building materials or other industrial sectors

Why engineers join us

Big clients, small team. Some of the biggest names in industry, served by a team of 40. Your work reaches their leadership in weeks, not years.

Own the stack. We fully control our stack and choose our tools. No committees, no tickets passed between five teams, no egos.

Built to last. Profitable, founder-led and majority founder-owned, backed by high-profile investors (e.g., Accel), with our Series A still ahead of us. That means growth on our terms and real upside for early joiners.

Learn from people who've done it. Founders who have run a $1B business, plus people from Palantir, McKinsey and BCG, all in the same room.

In person, on purpose. Three days a week together in Farringdon. Fast feedback, fast decisions and fast shipping.

What we offer

• Equity through our stock option programme, so you share in the long-term success and growth of the company
• A highly competitive salary
• Direct access to Fortune 500 executives from your first months, at a level most people wait a decade for
• Work alongside former MBB consultants and Fortune 500 executives who will teach you directly - our team is small enough that this happens in person, not through a training curriculum
• Private healthcare
• Pension scheme
• 25 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Work from abroad - up to four weeks a year, and up to two weeks at a time
• Hybrid office policy, with visa sponsorship available
• A company committed to social and environmental responsibility - we pledge to be a net-zero CO2 company and donate 1% of our revenue to social causes

Practicalities

London-based, 3 days a week in our Farringdon office