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

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.

BenefitsAt Databricks , we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the ne