Sr. Manager, AI Forward Deployed Engineering (AI-FDE)

REQ ID: CSQ427R198

Location: London, United Kingdom - Remote location for candidates to be based in the United Kingdom 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 development, and standardised delivery processes; design scalable engagement models and reusable solutions for repeatability across the global team
• Shape cross-functional collaboration by influencing Product, R&D, and GTM—ensuring voice-of-customer insights and delivery learnings help inform the product roadmap and GTM strategy
• Own OKRs for AI-services led accounts, revenue, utilisation, and public references
• Represent Databricks as a thought leader in AI/ML

What we look for:

• Extensive experience managing, hiring, and building a team of high-performing data scientists/ML engineers and leaders, with a track record of scaling organisations through developing scalable processes and cultivating leaders
• Ability to scope, guide, and sell technical engagements, manage escalations, and ensure successful delivery in enterprise environments
• Deep technical expertise in ML, GenAI, and data science, and curiosity to continue to stay up-to-date in this ever-changing field
• Experience leading teams building cutting-edge production ML solutions in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Proven success in developing a strategy with senior executive stakeholders to define program-level goals, align technical vision, and build trust throughout complex enterprise engagements
• Demonstrated experience in cross-functional leadership roles, collaborating with Sales, Product, and GTM teams to drive business impact through AI/ML
• “Company-first” mindset
• Graduate degree in a quantitative discipline (Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, Operations Research, etc.) or equivalent practical experience
  
  

Preferred:

• Experience in a customer-facing consulting or professional services leadership role
• Experience working with Databricks