Sr. Project Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering

Talanto; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 103,000 - 173,000; Full time

Job summary

Talanto is seeking a Senior Project Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering, to orchestrate pre-sales engagements across modernization and net-new opportunities. You will act as the logistical liaison, coordinating discovery workshops, timelines, and stakeholder alignment to keep deals moving quickly.

Responsibilities include global intake, tracking pipelines, coordinating engineering resources (Sales Engineers, FDEs, Architects), and partnering with Sales leadership to report on deal velocity and

Qualifications

• 6+ years in pre-sales operations, sales project management, or solutions engineering coordination.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional pre-sales resources for enterprise software sales.
• Strong track record of timely, accurate pipeline management and executive updates.

Responsibilities

• Act as the central intake point for global FDE pre-sales requests and scheduling.
• Coordinate discovery workshops, architecture deep-dives, and roadmap sessions.
• Maintain real-time tracking of active pre-sales opportunities and next steps.
• Build and manage timelines for complex pre-sales engagements to avoid delays.
• Identify bottlenecks and align sales reps and technical stakeholders on timelines.
• Provide regular pipeline status updates and resource utilization metrics.
• Support the Engagement Manager with meeting notes and prerequisites for deals.
• Assist in executive-level pre-sales presentations and resource coordination.
• Coordinate pre-sales enablement sessions for internal and partner teams.
• Reduce administrative burden on leadership to focus on strategy and scale.

Skills

Pre-sales coordination

Sales project management

CRM tools

Cross-functional leadership

Executive‑level reporting

Stakeholder management

Communication

Organization

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Salesforce

Smartsheet

Jira

Job description

Important: if an employer asks you to log into their system via iCloud or Google, send a code, an SMS or Telegram password, run some code, or install software - refuse. These are signs of fraud.

Love what you do. And love where you do it. Smart people, fun culture, innovative work, beautiful offices — oh, and everyone’s really nice. That’s what people say about . We’re known as the company where everyone wants to work, and we have the awards to prove it. If you’re passionate about outsmarting cybercriminals and working at a company where you can truly have an impact, and we want you to join our team.

empowers the largest, most complex organizations by putting identity at the Center of Security and IT. Our 2,000+ customers include global financial institutions, government entities, and pharmaceutical organizations and more.

Who You Are:

You are a self-directed, highly motivated, and experienced professional that thrives while overseeing multiple projects and prospective client opportunities. It is easy for you to build and maintain professional working relationships, and you are comfortable interacting with people at all levels within an organization. You possess strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills and can balance both team and individual workloads. You are an exceptional multitasker, with the ability to meet and manage moving deadlines, gauge risks, and creatively resolve unexpected issues that arise. By leveraging your experience, you can identify.

Role Summary:

Operating at the intersection of Solution Engineering, Professional Services and Product Management, the Forward Deployed Engineering team (FDEs) leverages state-of-the-art AI tooling alongside deep implementation expertise and industry knowledge to build foundational solutions, solve complex problems, accelerate our customers' time-to-value and decrease the cost of traditional services.

The Senior Project Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering, is a critical pre-sales operational leader responsible for orchestrating and managing the pipeline of all FDE engagements, encompassing both legacy modernization initiatives and complex net-new customer opportunities. Operating in the pre-sales lifecycle, this role acts as the "air traffic controller" for the Forward Deployed Engineering team. Reporting to the Director of FDE, you will coordinate technical discovery workshops, manage the timelines of pre-sales FDE engagements, and track deal velocity. You will provide direct tactical support to both the Director and the Engagement Manager by ensuring that all FDE pre-sales activities—regardless of whether they are for an existing customer or a net-new prospect—are perfectly structured and seamlessly executed.

Responsibilities:

• Act as the central point of contact for the global sales organization to intake, triage, and schedule all FDE pre-sales requests for both modernization and net-new opportunities.
• Coordinate and manage the logistics of pre-sales technical engagements, including discovery workshops, architecture deep-dives, and strategic roadmap sessions.
• Maintain a comprehensive, real-time tracking system for all active FDE pre-sales opportunities, monitoring deal stages, FDE involvement, and next steps.
• Build and manage timelines for complex pre-sales engagements, ensuring technical validations and pipeline phases do not stall the broader sales cycle.
• Proactively identify and mitigate bottlenecks in the pre-sales FDE pipeline, ensuring sales reps and technical stakeholders are completely aligned on timelines and deliverables.
• Partner with Sales Leadership to provide regular FDE pipeline status updates, FDE resource utilization metrics, and deal velocity reports across all engagement types.
• Act as the logistical counterpart to the Engagement Manager; while the EM manages the scoping frameworks and standardizes the SOWs, you will ensure they have the necessary meeting notes, technical prerequisites, and stakeholder alignment to keep deals moving quickly.
• Assist the Director in preparing for executive-level pre-sales presentations, managing presentation assets, and coordinating FDE resources for high-priority strategic deals.
• Manage the scheduling and coordination of the FDE team’s pre-sales enablement sessions for internal sales and partner teams.
• Significantly reduce the Director and Engagement Manager's day-to-day administrative and scheduling burden, allowing them to focus entirely on technical strategy and programmatic scale.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Experience: 6+ years of experience in pre-sales operations, sales project management, or solutions engineering coordination within the enterprise software space.
• Pre-Sales Expertise: Deep expertise in navigating complex enterprise software sales cycles and coordinating technical pre-sales resources (e.g., Sales Engineers, FDEs, Architects) for both net-new logos and existing customer expansions.
• Project Management Methodologies: Strong command of project tracking tools and CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, Smartsheet, Jira). PMP or equivalent certification is a plus.
• Collaborative Leadership: Proven ability to "lead without authority" by coordinating cross‑functional pre‑sales teams, holding sales reps accountable to technical prerequisites, and keeping deals on track.
• Technical Aptitude: Ability to understand high‑level software architecture and identity security concepts to effectively schedule and track technical discussions (IAM experience is preferred but not required).
• Communication & Organization: Excellent executive‑level reporting skills, with a track record of bringing order to high‑volume, fast‑paced sales pipelines.

Success Milestones: What to Expect at 1, 3, and 6 Months

• 1 Month In: Onboarding, Training, and Discovery
  • Complete internal corporate onboarding and integrate with the Forward Deployed Engineering team.
  • Complete Product Training: Successfully finish the Identity Security Leader and the Identity Security Administrator (Identity Security Cloud) training paths via Identity University, establishing a strong baseline knowledge of Identity Security principles and core platform functionality.
  • Shadow the Director and Engagement Manager on active pre‑sales calls, discovery sessions, and internal deal strategy meetings to understand the current pre‑sales FDE motion for both existing and net‑new customers.
  • Take inventory of the current FDE pre‑sales pipeline and evaluate the methods used for tracking FDE deal involvement and resource allocation.
• 3 Months In: Taking Ownership and Establishing Rhythms
  • Fully own the intake and scheduling process for all FDE pre‑sales requests globally, operating as the primary logistical liaison to the sales team.
  • Implement a standardized tracking system (e.g., Salesforce dashboards, Smartsheet) to monitor health, FDE stage, and next steps for all pre‑sales FDE engagements.
  • Successfully facilitate the logistical coordination of discovery workshops and technical deep‑dives, ensuring the FDE team has exactly what they need to engage productively.
  • Assume responsibility for weekly FDE pre‑sales pipeline reporting to the Director.
• 6 Months In: Optimization, Governance, and Scale
  • Fully govern the FDE pre‑sales project lifecycle, ensuring consistent, high-quality, and predictable FDE engagement across all global sales regions and customer types.
  • Autonomously anticipate FDE resource bottlenecks and independently execute mitigation plans to keep the sales pipeline moving.
  • Serve as the trusted operational leader for the global sales organization regarding FDE availability, pre‑sales timelines, and engagement prerequisites.

Travel:

Ability to travel up to 15%

Education:

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.

Benefits and Compensation:

Benefits and Compensation listed vary based on the location of your employment and the nature of your employment with .

As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Corporate Bonus Plan or a role‑specific commission, along with potential eligibility for equity participation. This organization maintains broad salary ranges for its roles to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions and locations, as well as reflect ’s differing products, industries, and lines of business. Candidates are typically placed into the range based on the preceding factors as well as internal peer equity. We estimate the base salary, for US‑based employees, will be in this range from (min-max, USD):

$102,700 - $173,106.00

Base salaries for employees based in other locations are competitive for the employee’s home location.

Benefits Overview:

• Health and wellness coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Disability coverage: Short‑term and long‑term disability
• Life protection: Life insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)
• Additional life coverage options: Supplemental life insurance for employees, spouses, and children
• Flexible spending accounts for health care, and dependent care; limited purpose flexible spending account
• Financial security: 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company matching
• Time off benefits: Flexible vacation policy
• Holidays: 8 paid holidays annually
• Sick leave
• Parental support: Paid parental leave
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Care Counselors
• Voluntary benefits: Legal Assistance, Critical Illness, Accident, Hospital Indemnity and Pet Insurance options
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution

is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome all qualified candidates to apply to join our team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other category protected by applicable law.