Forward Deployed Engineering Manager, AWS Forward Deployed Engineering, US Government

Amazon

Arlington (VA)

On-site

USD 185,000 - 250,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Sign-on payments

RSUs

Health insurance

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Amazon is seeking an experienced Forward Deployed Engineering Manager to lead a pod of FDEs embedded with strategic enterprise customers. You will own delivery execution, engineering quality, and team development, guiding multiple concurrent AI programs and interfacing with AWS leadership.

This role requires 3+ years of engineering management, a BS in a technical field, and a TS/SCI clearance. You will hire, coach, and scale a team while ensuring production readiness and customer success across

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field.
Experience leading engineering teams in a startup, high-growth, or rapidly scaling environment.
3+ years of engineering team management experience.
3+ years of experience working in an Agile, startup, or rapidly scaling environment.
Experience building or deploying AI/ML applications in production environments at scale.

Responsibilities

Lead FDE pod delivery across one or more customer engagements and staff the team for optimal coverage.
Provide technical oversight and review architecture decisions to align with customer needs and AWS best practices.
Ensure production readiness and operational standards for AI systems, driving improvements.
Hire, develop and retain FDE talent; coach junior engineers and drive performance management.
Identify opportunities to expand AI adoption within customer engagements and codify learnings into reusable patterns.

Skills

Leadership

Engineering management

Agile

Communication

AI/ML production systems

Technical problem solving

Staff coaching

Customer engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/Math

Tools

React

TypeScript

Python

Job description

Application deadline: Oct 1, 2026

A Forward Deployed Engineering Manager (FDE Manager) leads a pod of FDEs embedded within strategic enterprise customers, owning delivery execution, engineering quality, and team development for their scope. FDE Managers own pod-level outcomes — they ensure their team delivers production AI systems that meet customer expectations, develop their engineers' careers, and contribute to the broader FDE practice's engineering standards.

FDE Managers operate at pod/multi-pod scope. They lead 5–15 engineers, own technical delivery across one or more concurrent customer engagements, and define what "great" looks like for their team. They represent the FDE team to customer engineering leaders and AWS stakeholders, balancing delivery execution with people development.

This position requires that the candidate selected be a US Citizen and currently possess and maintain an active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph.

Key job responsibilities

Lead FDE pod delivery. Own delivery across one or more customer engagements. Staff and structure the team for optimal customer coverage. Define execution cadences and ensure consistent engineering quality across active programs. Requires up to 25% travel.
Guide technical direction. Provide technical oversight for customer AI programs within your scope. Review architecture decisions and ensure alignment with customer needs and AWS best practices. Resolve technical blockers and escalater strategically when needed.
Own production excellence for your team. Ensure operational standards, evaluation frameworks, and production readiness criteria are met for AI systems your team builds. Drive improvements that raise the operational bar within your scope.
Build and develop the team. Hire, develop, and retain FDE talent. Coach junior FDEs toward independence and career growth. Drive performance management and create development plans. Contribute to hiring bar and calibration standards.
Accelerate customer adoption. Identify opportunities to expand AI adoption within your customer engagements. Ensure learnings are codified into reusable patterns and fed back into the broader FDE practice.

About the team

ABOUT AWS:

Amazon values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.

Why AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Work/Life Balance

We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.

Inclusive Team Culture

AWS values curiosity and connection. Our employee-led and company-sponsored affinity groups promote inclusion and empower our people to take pride in what makes us unique. Our inclusion events foster stronger, more collaborative teams. Our continual innovation is fueled by the bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and passionate voices our teams bring to everything we do.

Mentorship and Career Growth

We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Basic Qualifications

3+ years of engineering team management experience
Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
7+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
Current, active US Government Security Clearance of TS/SCI with Polygraph
3+ years of experience working in an Agile, startup, or rapidly scaling environment
Experience communicating technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership
Experience with agentic and spec-driven development (developing AI agents a plus)
Experience building or deploying AI/ML applications in production environments at scale

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working with teams that build and scale end-to-end production systems
Experience working in customer production environments
Experience managing teams in customer-facing or consulting-adjacent engineering roles
Background leading engineering teams in a startup, high-growth, or rapidly scaling environment
Prior experience with React, TypeScript, Python, and/or Go
Experience managing delivery across multiple concurrent customer programs
3+ years of leadership development and talent management experience

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.