Director Forward Deployed Engineering

About the Role

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.

What you’ll do

• 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.

Who you are

• 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.

You will thrive in this role if

• 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.

Compensation

This role offers a total target compensation of $300,000–$350,000, which includes base salary and a 20% variable component tied to individual and company performance. You’ll also receive stock options and a comprehensive set of cash and non-cash benefits.