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.