Director, Forward Deployed Engineering

Hybrid in Santa Clara, CAfull timeHybrid

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senior

$300k–$350k

H1B: no

Hackerrank The Director, Forward Deployed Engineering at HackerRank leads the global FDE team, setting strategy and standards while providing hands-on technical leadership. This role partners with sales, product, and engineering to deliver customer-specific solutions.

Responsibilities

HackerRank is scaling its Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) function globally. We are hiring a Director, Forward Deployed Engineering (Global) to set the strategy, standards, and execution bar for this team. This is a hands-on leadership role. You will lead the global FDE function, directly manage FDEs in the U.S., and partner closely with regional GMs in EMEA and APAC.
Lead, coach, and grow a team of FDEs that lead customer engagements (pre- and post-sales) to define and deliver solutions.
Partner with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Customer Success to shape solutions that solve real customer problems.
Work with Product and Engineering to incorporate customer-specific solutions into the product roadmap.
Provide hands-on technical leadership across APIs, integrations, and platform capabilities.
Elevate how we run demos, proofs of concept, and onsite engagements.
Build repeatable playbooks, delivery standards, and best practices to move fast at scale.
You enjoy building teams, systems, and standards from the ground up.
Ambiguity energizes you, especially in fast-moving environments.
You hold high standards for ownership and quality, with a bias toward action and urgency.

Qualification

Even better if you haveBackground in developer tools

Required

A seasoned technical leader with 8+ years in engineering, solutions engineering, or technical delivery, and 2+ years leading high-performing technical teams.
Obsessed with operating alongside the team, reviewing designs, challenging assumptions, and stepping in when problems get ambiguous or high-stakes.
Highly experienced in leading customer-facing technical teams where success depends on credibility, clarity, and execution, not scripts or handoffs.
Fluent across engineering and business contexts, you can debate architecture with engineers and align outcomes with sales, product, and customer leaders.
Excellent presenter and communicator who can modulate the message across both technical and non-technical audiences.
Even better if you have
Experience as a Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineer, or Technical Consultant.
Background in developer tools, HR tech, or API-first SaaS platforms.
Experience working in globally distributed or matrixed teams.

Preferred

Experience as a Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineer, or Technical Consultant
Background in developer tools, HR tech, or API-first SaaS platforms
Experience working in globally distributed or matrixed teams