Sr. Manager, AI Forward Deployed Engineering (AI-FDE)

Databricks Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 199,000 - 287,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote position in Germany

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Databricks Inc. in Germany is seeking a senior leader to head a regional, customer-facing AI engineering organization, guiding enterprise clients through complex AI and ML transformations and productionising generative AI solutions.

You will mentor data scientists and ML engineers, own executive relationships, and shape delivery across major accounts, with cross-functional alignment to sales, product, and research.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience leading data science and ML teams
• Proven track record delivering AI/ML transformations for enterprise accounts
• Ability to define programme-level strategy with executives

Responsibilities

• Build, hire, and mentor a high-performing team of data scientists and ML engineers
• Cultivate executive-level relationships with strategic customers and partners
• Co-define account strategy with field engineering and sales leadership
• Drive practice development and standardised delivery processes
• Channel insights into product, research, and go-to-market strategy
• Own measurable goals tied to services-led accounts
• Represent the organisation at industry events and in the AI/ML community

Skills

Strategic leadership

Data science leadership

ML engineering leadership

Enterprise client engagement

Cloud platforms

Executive relationship building

Education

Graduate degree in CS/Engineering/Statistics or related field

Tools

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Job description

Role overview

A senior leadership opportunity to head a regional customer-facing AI engineering organisation, guiding enterprise clients through complex AI and machine learning transformations. The role blends people leadership, strategic account ownership, and hands-on technical influence, focused on productionising generative AI and ML solutions across major accounts in the EMEA region. The position reports into senior engineering leadership and carries significant cross-functional scope.

Responsibilities

• Build, hire, and mentor a high-performing team of data scientists, ML engineers, and team leads, designing an organisational structure that supports sustained growth and large-scale delivery
• Cultivate and deepen executive-level relationships with strategic customers and partners, serving as a trusted advisor across intricate technical engagements and AI transformation programmes
• Partner closely with field engineering and sales leadership to co-define account strategy, align priorities, and coordinate delivery across functions
• Drive practice development, standardised delivery processes, and reusable engagement models that improve repeatability across the global team
• Channel customer insights and delivery learnings into product, research, and go-to-market strategy through structured cross-functional collaboration
• Own measurable goals tied to services-led accounts, including revenue, utilisation, and reference outcomes
• Act as an external thought leader, representing the organisation at industry events and in the wider AI/ML community

Requirements

• Extensive experience managing, hiring, and scaling teams of senior data scientists and ML engineers, including developing other leaders and scalable processes
• Track record scoping, selling, and guiding technical consulting engagements in enterprise environments, including handling escalations
• Deep technical expertise across machine learning, generative AI, and data science, with curiosity to keep pace with a fast-moving field
• Hands-on experience leading teams that build production ML solutions in at least one major cloud platform
• Demonstrated ability to define programme-level strategy with senior executives, aligning technical vision and building trust across complex engagements
• Cross-functional leadership experience partnering with sales, product, and go-to-market teams to drive measurable business impact
• Graduate degree in a quantitative discipline such as computer science, engineering, statistics, or operations research, or equivalent practical experience

Nice to have

• Prior experience in a customer-facing consulting or professional services leadership role
• Familiarity with large-scale data and AI platforms

Benefits and work setup

• Remote position based in Germany; candidates must reside in the region
• Comprehensive benefits package offered, with specific details varying by location