Forward Deployed Engineering Lead

Socket.dev; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Rox Data Corp is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineering Lead who will own the execution and evolution of the FDE function. You will lead a small, hands-on team and engage directly with customers on high-stakes projects, ensuring scalable, secure, and durable deployments that align with Rox’s long-term product strategy.

The role emphasizes technical depth, cross-functional collaboration with Sales and Product, and the ability to establish repeatable patterns for delivery and handoff to scale the

Qualifications

• Led technical, client-facing teams (FDE, Solutions Engineering, or similar).
• Hands-on engineering background with Python, React, and SQL.
• Led complex technical projects end-to-end.
• Comfort operating across Sales, Engineering, and Product.
• Ability to translate ambiguity into execution.
• Strong communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead a growing team of Forward Deployed Engineers.
• Set technical and execution standards for customer deployments.
• Establish repeatable patterns for scoping, delivery, and handoff.
• Coach and mentor FDEs on technical depth and customer execution.
• Act as technical lead on complex or high-stakes customer projects.
• Partner with Sales on pre- and post-sale technical strategy.
• Lead deep technical discovery to uncover customer constraints.
• Ensure customer implementations are scalable, secure, and maintainable.
• Work with Engineering to influence roadmap and product decisions.
• Translate customer learnings into actionable feedback.
• Align with Sales on deal strategy, feasibility, and delivery timelines.
• Help ensure Rox’s technical promises are grounded in reality.

Skills

Python

React

SQL

Leadership

Client-facing

Job description

About Rox Data Corp

Rox is building the AI-native revenue operating system for modern go-to-market teams. Backed by Sequoia, GV, and General Catalyst, we work with ambitious companies to replace fragmented CRM workflows with intelligent, autonomous systems that actually drive outcomes.

We are a fast-moving Series A company (~75 people) operating at the intersection of data, AI, and real revenue execution. We care deeply about technical rigor, customer truth, and building systems that scale with clarity.

About the Forward Deployed Engineering Team

Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) at Rox is where product, engineering, and customers converge.

FDEs embed directly into customer environments to solve high-impact problems: integrating Rox into complex GTM stacks, shaping real-world implementations, and translating customer needs back into product direction. This is not a support function and not traditional consulting — it’s applied engineering with ownership.

The FDE Lead role exists to scale this function: setting standards, leading a small but critical team, and ensuring Rox’s most strategic customers see real value fast.

About the Role

This is a player-coach leadership role.

As FDE Lead, you will own the execution and evolution of the Forward Deployed Engineering function. You’ll lead a small team of FDEs while remaining hands-on with customers, especially in the highest-stakes engagements.

You’ll partner most closely with Sales and Engineering, ensuring customer implementations are technically sound, scalable, and aligned with Rox’s long-term product strategy. The patterns you establish — how projects are scoped, how technical decisions are made, how feedback flows — will define how FDE operates as Rox grows.

This role is ideal for someone with strong technical depth, experience leading complex client-facing projects, and a bias toward building durable systems rather than one-off solutions.

How Your Time Breaks Down

• 40% Functional Execution – hands-on technical work, architecture, integrations, and delivery

• 30% Client-Facing – leading customer engagements, technical discovery, and solution design

• 30% Team Leadership – mentoring FDEs, setting standards, and scaling the function

What You’ll Do

Lead & Scale the FDE Function

• Lead a growing team of Forward Deployed Engineers

• Set technical and execution standards for customer deployments

• Establish repeatable patterns for scoping, delivery, and handoff

• Coach and mentor FDEs on both technical depth and customer execution

Own Strategic Customer Engagements

• Act as technical lead on complex or high-stakes customer projects

• Partner with Sales on pre- and post-sale technical strategy

• Lead deep technical discovery to uncover real customer constraints

• Ensure customer implementations are scalable, secure, and maintainable

Drive Cross-Functional Execution

• Work closely with Engineering to influence roadmap and product decisions

• Translate customer learnings into clear, actionable feedback

• Align with Sales on deal strategy, feasibility, and delivery timelines

• Help ensure Rox’s technical promises are grounded in reality

Build for the Long Term

• Identify where custom work should become product

• Reduce friction and toil through better tooling and patterns

• Raise the technical bar across customer deployments

What Success Looks Like

• First 3 days: You’ve deeply internalized Rox’s product, architecture, and customer use cases

• First 3 weeks: You’re actively leading the FDE team and owning key customer engagements

• First 3 months: The FDE function is scaling cleanly — clearer standards, stronger execution, and better feedback loops into Product and Engineering

Must-Have Qualifications

• Experience leading technical, client-facing teams (FDE, Solutions Engineering, Consulting, or similar)

• Strong hands-on engineering background (Python, React, SQL)

• Experience leading complex technical projects end-to-end

• Comfort operating across Sales, Engineering, and Product

• Ability to translate ambiguity into execution

• Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Nice-to-Have Background

• Prior experience in consulting or forward-deployed engineering models

• Familiarity with Palantir-style or embedded engineering patterns

• Experience scaling early-stage technical teams

• Exposure to modern data stacks, analytics, or AI-driven systems

Why This Role Exists

Rox is growing quickly, and customer execution is a core competitive advantage. This role exists to ensure that as we scale, our Forward Deployed Engineering function scales with clarity, rigor, and impact — not chaos.

If you’re excited about leading real engineers, solving real problems, and shaping how a critical function operates at a defining moment, this is a rare opportunity to do exactly that.