Senior Field Engineer (Pre-Sales/Forward Deployed)

cognite; United States; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement match

Health insurance

Dental

Vision

Disability insurance

Paid parental leave

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Cognite in the United States is seeking a Forward Deployed/Pre-Sales Engineer to lead technical engagements, design prototypes and agent-based workflows using industrial data. You will partner with account teams, demonstrate value through demos and reference architectures, and help customers connect operational data with enterprise systems.

The role blends engineering rigor with pre-sales strategy, requiring strong Python skills, AI know-how, and the ability to travel up to 50%.

Qualifications

• Experience in forward deployed or pre-sales engineering in enterprise software/cloud/industrial systems.
• Strong Python programming and software engineering fundamentals.
• Familiarity with AI approaches: embeddings, retrieval augmented generation, prompt chaining.

Responsibilities

• Partner with account teams to prioritize opportunities and guide customers from strategy through implementation.
• Design and build prototypes and agent-based workflows grounded in industrial data.
• Run use-case workshops, translate needs into solution designs and present demos and reference architectures.
• Integrate generative AI components and data models into end-to-end prototypes.
• Share deployment feedback with product teams to drive reusable practices and improvements.
• Explain technical approaches and value to engineering teams and senior leaders.

Skills

Forward Deployed Eng

Pre-sales Eng

Python

Generative AI

Communication

Willing to travel

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Role overview

Lead technical engagements that turn industrial customers’ goals into working data and AI solutions. The role combines forward deployed engineering and pre-sales: shaping use cases, building prototypes and industrial agents, demonstrating value, and helping customers connect fragmented operational and enterprise data. It also brings deployment lessons back to product teams to improve future solutions.

Responsibilities

• Partner with account teams to prioritize opportunities and guide customers from strategy through implementation.
• Design and build prototypes and agent based workflows grounded in industrial data and context.
• Run use case workshops, translate functional and technical needs into solution designs, and present demos and reference architectures.
• Integrate generative AI components, data models, and existing customer systems into scalable end to end prototypes.
• Share customer and deployment feedback with product teams, turning recurring obstacles into requirements and reusable practices.
• Explain technical approaches and expected value to both engineering audiences and senior business leaders.

Requirements

• At least 3 years in forward deployed or pre-sales engineering, preferably with enterprise software, cloud platforms, or industrial systems.
• Strong engineering foundation and practical Python skills.
• Understanding of generative AI approaches such as embeddings, retrieval augmented generation, and prompt chaining.
• Ability to solve complex problems, analyze requirements, and communicate technical ideas clearly.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 50% as needed.

Nice to have

• Education or experience in industrial disciplines such as petroleum, chemical, mechanical, or control systems engineering.
• Customer facing or sales experience, and familiarity with real world industrial data challenges.
• Interest in applying AI and data systems to heavy industry and operational workflows.

Benefits and work setup

• Benefits include retirement contributions with employer match, health, dental, vision, and disability coverage, paid parental leave, and flexible paid time off.