Sr. Manager, AI Forward Deployed Engineering

In this role you will lead and grow the EMEA AI FDE professional services team at Databricks, guiding AI/ML transformations for enterprise clients and shaping delivery strategy. You will cultivate executive relationships, drive scalable engagement models, and influence product roadmaps through field insight. This is a customer-facing leadership position focused on GenAI and production ML, with a strong emphasis on building teams, partnerships, and repeatable solutions. You’ll work across functions to scale impact and represent Databricks as a thought leader in AI/ML.

• Lead and scale a world-class AI/ML professional services team, including hiring, mentoring, and structuring for long-term growth
• Develop and expand executive relationships with EMEA customers and partners (VP+, CIO/CDO-level) as trusted advisor during complex AI transformations
• Coordinate with Field Engineering and Sales to define joint strategies for strategic accounts and ensure delivery alignment across functions
• Lead strategic AI PS initiatives, practice development, and standardized delivery processes; design scalable engagement models for repeatability
• Shape cross-functional collaboration by influencing Product, R&D, and GTM to reflect voice-of-customer insights in roadmaps
• Own OKRs for AI-services led accounts, revenue, utilization, and public references
• Represent Databricks as a thought leader in AI/ML
• Manage and grow a portfolio of key EMEA accounts with a focus on enterprise delivery and impact
• Recruit, develop, and retain top data scientists/ML engineers; build leadership within the team
• Travel as needed to customer sites or offices to enable delivery and relationship-building

• Extensive experience managing, hiring, and scaling teams of data scientists/ML engineers; track record of building scalable processes and leadership
• 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; ongoing curiosity to stay current in the field
• Experience leading teams building production ML solutions in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Proven success developing strategy with senior executive stakeholders to define program goals, align technical vision, and build trust
• Demonstrated cross-functional leadership with Sales, Product, and GTM to drive business impact through AI/ML
• “Company-first” mindset
• Graduate degree in a quantitative discipline or equivalent practical experience
• Preferred: experience in customer-facing consulting or professional services leadership; experience working with Databricks

• Executive stakeholder management
• Strong communication and storytelling
• Cross-functional collaboration
• ML/GenAI expertise
• Production ML in cloud environments (AWS/Azure/GCP)
• AI transformation and enterprise delivery