Senior Director, Forward Deployed Engineering

The Senior Director, Forward Deployed Engineering is a player-coach who leads Decision Lens’s FDE function while remaining hands-on with customers. This leader builds both solutions and the team that delivers them—embedding in customer environments to design and deploy production-grade applications while hiring, coaching, and setting the technical standard for a growing FDE team.

This role is dedicated to owning complex customer engagements from discovery through build, stabilization, and transition as well as developing the team, establishing consistent delivery practices, and translating field insights into feedback for Product and Engineering.

The Senior Director will personally lead high-stakes engagements, model the standards expected across the team, and step in when senior technical leadership is needed.

Personally embed onsite with customers on the most strategic, ambiguous, or at-risk engagements—running discovery, workflow mapping, solution design, build, stabilization, and clean handoff.

Design and build working applications on the Decision Lens platform (Data Hub/App Hub) across the full stack: frontend, backend, APIs, data layer, workflow logic, and deployment configuration.

Design data models supporting decision workflows—prioritization, scoring, traceability, auditability, and executive reporting.

Use AI-assisted development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Git Hub Copilot) to accelerate delivery while owning architecture, quality, security, and testing.

Run demo-driven development cycles with frequent customer feedback; take personal responsibility for the reliability and quality of what ships.

Hire, develop, and retain a high-performing team of Forward Deployed Engineers; set the technical and delivery bar and hold the team to it.

Provide hands‑on coaching and code/architecture review; mentor FDEs on translating ambiguity into deployed software and on responsible AI‑assisted development.

Directly manage FDE performance, growth plans, staffing across engagements, and career development.

Step into any FDE’s engagement to unblock, elevate, or provide senior technical and customer credibility when needed.

Establish and enforce standards for engineering discipline, security, customer communication, and clean exit so solutions never become permanently dependent on any individual.

Institutionalize reusable apps, templates, integration patterns, workflow components, and data models; build the playbooks and accelerators that let the team scale rather than become a bespoke services shop.

Serve as the senior voice of the field to Product and Engineering, distinguishing one-off customer work from repeatable product opportunity and influencing the roadmap.

Partner cross-functionally with CX, Engineering, Sales, Solutions Engineering, and functional SMEs on solution design, staffing, and account strategy.

Communicate tradeoffs in business, operational, and mission terms; say “no,” “not yet,” or “phase two” gracefully to protect timeline, architecture, and mission outcomes.

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

10+ years in software engineering, forward‑deployed/field engineering, technical consulting, or enterprise application delivery, including hands‑on delivery you would still do today.

3+ years leading and directly managing technical teams (engineering, FDE, delivery, or consulting) while remaining personally hands‑on.

Demonstrated ability to build working software end‑to‑end across frontend, backend, data, and workflow logic—and to set the technical standard for others.

Proven track record embedding with…