Forward Deployed Strategist

MBN Solutions; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

MBN Solutions is partnering with venture-backed AI-native companies to hire Forward Deployed Strategists, Deployment Strategists and customer-facing AI deployment leaders. These roles sit at the intersection of customers, product, engineering and commercial delivery to help establish deployment functions or lead complex enterprise AI programmes.

The strongest candidates combine strategic judgement, technical fluency and the ability to own measurable customer outcomes.

Qualifications

• Must have proven experience owning external customer programmes from discovery to measurable results.
• Strong track record delivering enterprise deployment projects with concrete customer outcomes.
• Comfort collaborating with C-suite executives, technical teams and operational stakeholders.
• Technical fluency across AI products, enterprise software, data and systems integration.

Responsibilities

• Lead discovery with enterprise customers and senior stakeholders.
• Translate business problems into deployable AI workflows and implementation plans.
• Manage projects from scoping through configuration, integration, rollout and adoption.
• Work with engineers, product teams and customer IT organisations.
• Establish success measures, deployment plans, governance and adoption frameworks.
• Identify blockers and coordinate technical and operational resolution.
• Turn field learnings into product feedback and repeatable deployment playbooks.
• Support account growth, pilot conversion and longer-term relationships.

Skills

Enterprise consulting

Deployment

Professional services

Customer-facing delivery

C-suite collaboration

Technical fluency in AI

Systems integration

Ambiguity management

Program management

Account growth

Tools

APIs

Job description

New York or San Francisco

$140,000 to $300,000 base plus equity

We are working with a portfolio of venture-backed, AI-native companies that are hiring Forward Deployed Strategists, Deployment Strategists and customer-facing AI deployment leaders.

These positions sit at the intersection of customers, product, engineering and commercial delivery. You could be helping an early-stage company establish its deployment function or leading complex enterprise AI programmes for a rapidly scaling business.

This is not a traditional project-management or advisory position. The strongest candidates combine strategic judgement, technical fluency and the ability to take responsibility for measurable customer outcomes.

What you could be doing

• Leading discovery with enterprise customers and senior stakeholders
• Translating complex business problems into deployable AI workflows and implementation plans
• Managing projects from initial scoping through configuration, integration, rollout and adoption
• Working directly with engineers, product teams and customer IT organisations
• Establishing success measures, deployment plans, governance and adoption frameworks
• Identifying blockers and coordinating technical and operational resolution
• Turning field learning into product feedback and repeatable deployment playbooks
• Supporting account growth, pilot conversion and longer-term customer relationships

What we are looking for

• Strong experience in enterprise consulting, deployment, implementation, professional services or customer-facing product delivery
• A record of personally owning external customer programmes from discovery through measurable results
• Confidence working with C-suite executives, technical teams and operational stakeholders
• Technical fluency across AI products, enterprise software, data, APIs or systems integration
• The ability to structure ambiguous problems and drive multiple workstreams to completion
• Clear evidence of customer impact, adoption, efficiency gains, revenue or account expansion
• Comfort operating in demanding, fast-moving startup environments

Particularly relevant backgrounds may include

• Technical Engagement Management
• Strategy consulting followed by technology implementation
• Solutions Consulting or Professional Services
• Enterprise Transformation with direct delivery ownership

Candidates from leading strategy consultancies, enterprise AI businesses, high-growth software companies and Palantir-style deployment environments are particularly relevant. Consulting experience must involve genuine client delivery rather than exclusively internal strategy or due-diligence work.

Working arrangements vary. Many opportunities require regular attendance in New York or San Francisco and some include customer travel. Selected positions offer hybrid or remote arrangements.

Compensation depends on seniority, company and location. Current opportunities generally offer base salaries between $140,000 and $300,000, normally with equity and, in some cases, performance-related compensation.

We will discuss the relevant companies and positions with suitable candidates before making any introduction or submission.