Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Data Engineer

The Forward Deployed Engineer will operate at the intersection of solution architecture, technical delivery, and customer partnership. The role combines elements of a Solutions Architect, Technical Account Manager, and Solution Engineer, with a strong emphasis on hands-on execution and delivering successful customer outcomes.

As an FDE, you will serve as a trusted technical advisor and thought partner to client customers, helping them design, implement, and scale real-time data solutions .

You will work directly with customers to understand their business objectives, architecture, and use cases; translate these into technical strategies; and drive solutions from concept through production.

This role requires a combination of strong technical depth, excellent communication and consulting skills, and a delivery-oriented mindset. The ideal candidate will be equally comfortable leading strategic customer conversations, conducting architecture and whiteboarding sessions, and working hands-on to solve complex technical challenges.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Consulting & Solution Architecture

• Partner directly with customers to understand their architecture, use cases, technical requirements, and business objectives.
• Translate customer requirements and business goals into scalable, practical technical solutions.
• Lead discovery, whiteboarding, and architecture sessions to shape ideas and convert concepts into technical specifications and execution plans.
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor and proactive thought partner, bringing ideas and recommendations rather than simply responding to customer requirements.
• Help customers prioritize and operationalize their data initiatives while balancing strategic ambition with practical delivery.

Solution Delivery & Implementation

• Design and implement end-to-end solutions integrating SingleStore into existing customer application and data ecosystems.
• Own delivery of high-impact customer initiatives from initial concept through production deployment.
• Work hands-on with customer environments to implement, troubleshoot, optimize, and scale solutions.
• Integrate SingleStore with complex data pipelines, applications, infrastructure, and enterprise systems.
• Apply pragmatic technical solutions and fixes to overcome implementation challenges and ensure successful customer outcomes.
• Ensure solutions are production-ready, scalable, maintainable, and aligned with customer requirements.

Customer Partnership

• Build strong relationships with customer engineering, architecture, data, and business stakeholders.
• Guide both technical and non-technical stakeholders through solution decisions and implementation trade-offs.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear recommendations for different audiences.
• Help customers navigate ambiguous requirements and convert them into actionable technical plans.
• Maintain strong ownership and accountability throughout the customer engagement lifecycle.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Solutions Engineering, Product, and Engineering teams to align customer requirements with product capabilities.
• Work with internal and customer stakeholders to identify and resolve technical blockers.
• Provide insights from customer engagements to Product and Engineering teams to help influence product improvements and roadmap priorities.
• Ensure proposed solutions are both technically feasible and aligned with SingleStore's product capabilities and roadmap.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Solution Architecture, Solution Engineering, Technical Consulting, Professional Services, or similar customer-facing technical roles.
• Strong foundation in databases, distributed systems, and/or software engineering.
• Proven experience designing and delivering production-grade solutions in customer-facing environments.
• Experience integrating complex systems across data pipelines, applications, databases, and infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ability to take solutions from initial customer discussions and architecture through implementation and production.
• Ability to translate ambiguous business and technical requirements into clear technical strategies and execution plans.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience working directly with enterprise customers.
• Experience supporting customers in financial services, high-tech, or similarly complex enterprise environments is highly preferred.

Consulting & Communication Skills

This is a highly customer-facing role, and excellent consulting and communication skills are critical to success.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong customer-facing consulting capabilities.
• Ability to lead technical discovery, architecture, and whiteboarding sessions.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to influence technical decisions through expertise and sound judgment.
• Strong organizational skills and ownership of customer deliverables.
• Ability to operate effectively in environments where requirements may initially be ambiguous.
• Ability to balance technical innovation with pragmatic delivery, realistic scoping, and customer timelines.