Forward Deployed Strategist

Posted 8 Hours Ago
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Sydney, New South Wales, AUS
In-Office
Senior level
Big Data • Machine Learning • Software • Analytics • Big Data Analytics
The Role
Owns customer-facing FDE engagements from executive discovery and value definition through MVP scoping, PRD creation, agile delivery, launch, adoption, and strategic handoff. Partners with sales and engineering, manages backlogs and stakeholder communications, resolves technical and political blockers, validates business value, and identifies follow-on opportunities.
Summary Generated by Built In

CSQ128R188

Location: Sydney

As a Forward Deployed Strategist (FDS), you are the critical bridge between a customer's multi-million dollar business problem and Databricks' technical solution. You are a product manager for the field, owning the entire non-technical lifecycle of an FDE engagement.

You will partner with our Account Executives to build C-suite trust, perform deep discovery to map the customer's political and technical landscape, and, most importantly, scope the value. You will define the Minimum Viable Product for a pilot, write the PRD that guides the engineering team, and manage the project to a successful landing.

This role requires a rare mix of C-suite gravitas, deep product-style thinking, and a hands-on, get it done execution mindset.

The impact you will have:

  • C-Suite Scoping & Value Definition: Partner with Sales to perform deep discovery, map the customer's organization, quantify the business value ($10M+ problems), and define the pilot (MVP, success criteria, timeline).
  • End-to-End Product Ownership: Act as the CEO of the project by authoring the PRD, prioritizing the engineering backlog, relentlessly managing scope, and acting as the primary hands-on QA tester.
  • Agile Project Execution & Delivery: Drive the FDE build team via an agile process, manage all stakeholder communications from the C-suite to individual engineers, and act as the escalation manager to unblock all technical or political issues.
  • Solution Launch & Landing: Own the Day 0 launch, manage the war room, and drive the solution from launch to full adoption by capturing user feedback, iterating, and proving the defined business value.
  • Strategic Handoff & Growth: Scope the ongoing maintenance plan, create customer documentation/training, and leverage your trusted advisor status to identify the next high-value FDE engagement.

What we look for:

  • Executive Presence & Communication: A Trusted Advisor with C-suite gravitas and superb communication skills. You are opinionated, humble, and can build rapport and drive decisions in days, not weeks.
  • Product & Strategy Mindset: A Product Thinker and Systems Thinker who can perform a SWOT analysis, understand a competitive landscape, and define what to build and why.
  • Relentless Execution: An Execution Driver with a Hands-On mentality. You are relentless, an expert at escalation, and willing to do the unglamorous work to get the project done.
  • Ideal Experience: 2+ years as a Deployment Strategist OR 2+ years at a high-growth startup in a builder or founder capacity. (Alternatively: 5+ years in a senior, client-facing product or delivery role at a top-tier tech company or consultancy).
  • Proven Skills: Demonstrated experience in value-based scoping (TCO/ROI), managing agile software projects, writing PRDs, and the ability/interest to travel up to 50%.

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.
Benefits
At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region click here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.

Skills Required

  • 2+ years as a Deployment Strategist, or 2+ years at a high-growth startup in a builder or founder capacity
  • Alternatively, 5+ years in a senior, client-facing product or delivery role at a top-tier technology company or consultancy
  • Experience with value-based scoping, including TCO and ROI analysis
  • Experience managing agile software projects
  • Experience writing product requirements documents (PRDs)
  • Ability and interest to travel up to 50%
  • C-suite communication skills and executive presence
  • Ability to perform deep customer discovery and define MVPs, success criteria, timelines, and business value
  • Ability to prioritize engineering backlogs, manage scope, and drive project execution

Databricks Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Databricks and has not been reviewed or approved by Databricks.

  • Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical, dental, and vision for employees and dependents, plus dedicated mental-health resources and an EAP. Wellness and gym reimbursements further support wellbeing.
  • Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants (RSUs/stock options) are highlighted as a major part of compensation and are often viewed as attractive. Occasional tender-offer liquidity and performance bonuses reinforce total rewards.
  • Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, and subsidized backup dependent care are emphasized. Family medical leave and caregiver support also feature in the package.

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The Company
HQ: San Francisco, CA
2,200 Employees
Year Founded: 2013

What We Do

As the leader in Unified Data Analytics, Databricks helps organizations make all their data ready for analytics, empower data science and data-driven decisions across the organization, and rapidly adopt machine learning to outpace the competition. By providing data teams with the ability to process massive amounts of data in the Cloud and power AI with that data, Databricks helps organizations innovate faster and tackle challenges like treating chronic disease through faster drug discovery, improving energy efficiency, and protecting financial markets.

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