Sr Solution Forward Deployment Engineer

Sr Solutions Forward Deployment Engineer About the RoleWe're looking for a Senior Solutions Forward Deployed Engineer to lead high-stakes SingleStore implementations and mentor a small team of FDEs. You'll be the most senior technical voice on your engagements — embedding with customers to architect and build real-time data systems, lead migrations onto SingleStore, and tune performance at scale — while also shaping how the broader FDE team executes, ramps, and delivers. This is a hybrid technical/leadership role: still hands-on-keyboard on the hardest problems, but with real ownership over team quality and output.What You'll DoCustomer DeliveryOwn the technical relationship for our most complex or highest-value customer engagements, from kickoff through production go-liveArchitect SingleStore-implementations that address customer business needs incorporating real-time analytics, HTAP workloads, and high-throughput ingestion pipelines, and write production-grade code (SQL, Python, and/or Java/Scala) alongside customer engineersLead migrations to SingleStore from legacy or incumbent databases (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server, Vertica, Redshift, Snowflake), including schema conversion, data validation, cutover planning, and minimizing downtime/riskDesign schemas, indexing strategies, and sharding/partitioning approaches tailored to demanding, large-scale workloadsOwn deep query tuning and performance optimization — analyzing query plans, resolving bottlenecks in memory/compute sizing, replication, and workload management, and coaching customers on tuning best practicesEvaluate and apply AI/LLM-based tools where they accelerate delivery — e.g., AI-assisted code generation, query optimization copilots, or natural-language-to-SQL interfaces — and advise customers on integrating SingleStore into their own AI/RAG and vector search use casesServe as the escalation point for the toughest performance, scaling, and architecture problems across the team's engagementsAct as executive-level technical counsel for customer stakeholders when engagements require itTeam LeadershipProvide technical oversight and mentorship to a small team of FDEs (typically 3–6), reviewing architecture decisions, code, migration plans, and query tuning approaches across their engagementsHelp staff and scope new engagements — assessing complexity, matching FDEs to customers, and flagging risk earlyRun technical reviews and retros to raise the bar on delivery quality and consistency across the teamCoach FDEs on both technical depth (migrations, tuning, AI tooling) and customer-facing skills; support onboarding and ramp-up for new hiresPartner with leadership on team processes, hiring, and capacity planning, without becoming a full-time people manager — you're still expected to be deep in customer workCross-Functional ImpactBuild reusable tools, accelerators, and reference architectures — including migration playbooks, tuning guides, and AI-assisted workflows — that reduce time-to-value across the team's implementationsBe the primary feedback channel from the field into Product and Engineering — surfacing patterns across multiple engagements, not just one-off issuesRepresent the FDE function in internal planning around roadmap, tooling, and delivery methodologyLiaison with the customer success teams to ensure appropriate handover post customer go-liveWhat We're Looking For7+ years of experience as a software/data engineer, solutions architect, or similar hands-on technical role, with significant time in a customer-facing or consulting capacity2+ years of experience informally or formally leading, mentoring, or setting technical direction for other engineersDeep SQL skills and hands-on experience with distributed or MPP databases (SingleStore, Snowflake, Vertica, ClickHouse, Redshift, BigQuery, etc.)Hands-on experience leading database migrations — schema/data conversion, validation, and cutover — into a cloud or distributed databaseStrong track record of query tuning and performance troubleshooting on large-scale, high-concurrency systemsWorking familiarity with AI/LLM tooling — either using AI coding assistants in daily engineering work, or building/integrating AI-powered features (RAG, vector search, copilots) for customersStrong proficiency in Python, Java, or Scala for building data pipelines and integrationsSolid understanding of data streaming and CDC technologies (Kafka, Debezium, Kinesis, Flink, Spark Streaming)Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and containerized/orchestrated deployments (Docker, Kubernetes)Track record of leading technically ambiguous, high-stakes customer engagements to successful outcomesExcellent communication skills; ability to operate credibly with both engineers and senior business/technical stakeholdersWillingness to travel to customer sites as needed (typically 20–40%, varies by engagement)Nice to HaveDirect experience with SingleStore (or hands-on evaluation/POC experience)Experience with SingleStore's vector/AI capabilities or building production RAG pipelinesBackground in real-time analytics, adtech, fintech, gaming, or other low-latency data domainsDeep experience with database internals (storage engines, columnstore/rowstore tradeoffs, execution plans, optimizer behavior)Prior experience as a Senior/Staff FDE, Principal Solutions Architect, or in a technical team-lead role at a data infrastructure or consulting companyWhy This RoleYou'll lead the hardest real-time data problems in the field — migrations, deep performance tuning, and applied AI — while helping build the team around you. High ownership over both customer outcomes and the people delivering them, with a direct line to shaping product and delivery strategy.