Sr. Manager, AI Forward Deployed Engineering (AI-FDE)
HotApplication analysis
Sr. Manager, AI Forward Deployed Engineering (AI-FDE) at Databricks is a forward deployed data & ai platform role for engineers who want customer-facing technical work with real deployment ownership.
Reading this role
This Forward Deployed Engineer role centers on embedded customer delivery — discovery, prototyping, integration, and production rollout. Key signals from the listing: Senior scope.
About Databricks
Databricks sells a unified data platform to enterprises. Forward deployed engineers help customers migrate workloads and prove value on live data. The role is anchored in Munich, Germany, so expect on-site customer work in that region.
Signals in the listing
Stand out for Sr. Manager, AI Forward Deployed Engineering (AI-FDE)
- Lead your application with one paragraph tying Sr. Manager, AI Forward Deployed Engineering (AI-FDE) to a specific customer or deployment you owned — Databricks hires for shipped outcomes, not tool lists.
- Prepare a 5-minute “week one on site” plan: who you would meet, what you would inspect in their stack, and what artifact you would deliver by day five.
- Show you can go from discovery notes → working integration → production checklist without needing a large internal team.
- This role is tied to Munich, Germany — mention willingness to work on-site with customers and any existing ties to that market (clients, partners, or domain knowledge).
Stand out at Databricks
- Demonstrate Spark/SQL fluency with a concrete example — Databricks will probe for specifics, not buzzwords.
- Demonstrate enterprise stakeholder management with a concrete example — Databricks will probe for specifics, not buzzwords.
- Strong candidates show they can whiteboard a lakehouse migration and then actually implement the first milestone.
- Read recent engineering blog posts, product launches, and customer stories on databricks.com — reference one explicitly in your outreach to show genuine interest.
Tailored from this listing’s title, company, and description. Always verify requirements on the company careers page before applying.
Role description
Req Id: Csq427r198
Location: Munich, Germany - Remote location for candidates to be based in the Germany region only (not remote from any other country)
Mission
The Forward Deployed AI Engineering (AI FDE) team is a highly specialised customer-facing AI team at Databricks. We deliver professional services (PS) engagements to help our customers build and productionize first-of-its-kind AI applications with a focus on GenAI. We work cross-functionally with AI/ML Product, Research, and Engineering to shape long-term strategic priorities and initiatives. We are looking for a world-class leader to lead and grow our EMEA AI FDE team. In this role, you will lead customers on their AI/ML transformation with Databricks, push the boundaries of our product, recruit and develop top data scientists/machine learning engineers, and manage a portfolio of key EMEA accounts. You will report directly to the Head of EMEA AI FDE.
The impact you will have:
Lead and scale a world-class AI/ML professional services team, including hiring, mentoring, and building a team structure to support long-term growth and execution at scale Develop and expand executive relationships with EMEA customers and partners (including VP+, CIO/CDO-level stakeholders), acting as a trusted advisor during complex technical engagements and AI transformations Align with Field Engineering and Sales Leaders to define joint strategies for strategic accounts and ensure strong delivery coordination across functions Lead strategic AI PS initiatives, practice develop