The Product Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) team is Salesforce's zero-to-one engine for new product innovation. We embed directly with our most strategic customers to validate emerging capabilities, harden the platform under real-world conditions, and transform every field insight into repeatable patterns that shape the product roadmap.

This role sits at the intersection of Data 360 and Core Salesforce Clouds (Sales, Service). You will design, validate, and operationalize enterprise-grade data architectures—centering on Salesforce Data 360 (D360). You will work directly with customer architects, data engineers, and platform owners to design, validate, and operationalize enterprise-grade data architectures that integrate D360 into complex enterprise ecosystems—including hyperscalers, data lakes, real-time pipelines, identity systems, and governance frameworks.

Most technical roles ask you to implement what already exists. This role asks you to define what comes next. You'll work with data and activation features before they're named, solve problems before there are playbooks, and build the artifacts that the rest of the field will use for years. Your work doesn't just help one customer—it hardens the Data 360 platform for every customer that comes after.

The ideal candidate brings high agency and self-motivation to ambiguous, high-stakes environments. You thrive when there's no established answer, move fast without losing rigor, and treat every customer engagement as a learning opportunity that makes the platform better for everyone. You're endlessly curious, quick to adapt, and energized by problems that haven't been solved yet.

Your Impact

Research & Field Validation

• Deploy and stress-test pilot features with customers on Data 360, identifying platform gaps and feeding structured findings back to Technology & Product
• Conduct feasibility research on novel use cases—determining what's possible, what's not, and what needs to change in the product to get there
• Own and drive the full technical lifecycle, from deep technical discovery and system design to architecture validation and technical close, across in-person and virtual engagements
• Co-develop hypotheses with Technology & Product and design experiments to validate them in the field
• Execute hands-on technical validation (POCs, architectural walkthroughs, reference implementations) to de-risk complex deals and accelerate Data 360 adoption
• Document and escalate critical engineering issues with detailed evidence packages to accelerate resolution

Customer Engagement

• Lead technical engagement of new Data 360 products and features
• Embed directly with customer teams to deeply understand their operational environment and architect solutions that solve real problems at scale
• Design and validate end-to-end data architectures integrating Salesforce D360 with enterprise systems (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift, streaming platforms, MDM, and source systems)
• Own technical architecture decisions, including data modeling, identity resolution, real-time vs. batch patterns, data graph design, and activation strategies within D360
• Run rapid prototyping and POC cycles to validate technical feasibility
• Serve as the primary technical advisor and escalation point for your customer portfolio
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to customer Chief Data Officers, Enterprise Architects, and Platform Owners
• Partner with Account Executives to shape technical close strategy, grounded in architectural feasibility, scalability, and customer data realities

Product Acceleration & Feedback

• Build reusable accelerators, playbooks, reference architectures, and industry-specific patterns that address critical product gaps and directly shape the Data 360 platform roadmap
• Partner directly with Product Managers and Engineers to influence roadmap priorities based on evidence captured directly from customers
• Represent the voice of the customer in internal product discussions and planning cycles
• Collaborate deeply with Salesforce Product & Engineering teams to influence roadmap through high-signal Voice of the Customer feedback and validate architectural patterns against upcoming D360 capabilities
• Analyze competitive landscape to identify and validate Salesforce's key differentiators—informing both field engagements and product feedback loops
• Produce thought leadership, best practices, enablement content, and high-fidelity technical assets (architecture diagrams, demos, governance models, activation patterns) that raise the bar for new product releases across the Salesforce community
• Act as a technical authority during escalations, architecture reviews, and executive-level design discussions

Trust & Governance

• Ensure D360 architectures align to security, privacy, compliance, and trust requirements—especially in regulated industries
• Establish enterprise data governance: data quality, lineage, enrichment, privacy, retention, and compliance
• Represent Salesforce's technical point of view for modern data architectures, with D360 as the system of activation, at customer briefings and technical forums

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of hands-on experience designing and delivering data, analytics, and platform architectures in enterprise environments, with a strong foundation in Salesforce and enterprise data

Data 360 & Data Architecture

• Proven experience integrating complex, distributed data ecosystems with Data 360 to drive business outcomes
• Design and validate end-to-end data architectures integrating Salesforce D360 with enterprise systems (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift, streaming platforms, MDM, and source systems)
• Strong background in data modeling, identity resolution, entity relationships, and Data 360 data graph design
• Experience with batch, real-time, and hybrid ingestion patterns into D360 (including CDC and streaming)

Salesforce Platform

• Deep hands-on knowledge of Salesforce architecture; Admin or Advanced Admin–level proficiency
• Experience designing scalable, secure solutions using D360 as the activation layer across Salesforce Clouds (Sales, Service, Experience, Marketing Cloud)
• Architect multi-cloud Salesforce implementations spanning industry solutions and core clouds

Integration & Engineering

• Design and govern enterprise integration architectures using REST/SOAP, GraphQL, middleware, and event-driven patterns
• Advise on DevOps and release frameworks using Salesforce DX, CI/CD pipelines, Git/version control, environment strategy, and release governance

Leadership & Communication

• Translate business requirements into scalable technical architecture, solution blueprints, and phased implementation roadmaps
• Lead architecture risk assessments, performance impact analysis, and serve as escalation authority for complex issues
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear architectural guidance for both technical and executive audiences
• Experience guiding architectural conversations with senior technical stakeholders and influencing platform and data strategy decisions
• Exceptional written communication skills: able to document builds, failures, and field observations in structured form that Product & Engineering can act on without a follow-up call
• Certifications: Salesforce Certified Data 360 Consultant, Platform Developer I, and Salesforce Platform Application Builder Salesforce System Architect or Application Architect

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, or embedded technical advisory roles
• Expertise in enterprise data architecture, security, and integrations, including REST/GraphQL APIs, SaaS platform architecture, and common data integration patterns
• Experience with analytics and BI tools: Tableau, Looker, Power BI
• Proficiency in one or more programming languages:, JavaScript, Apex, or Java
• High agency, self-motivation, and agility quotient—you thrive in ambiguous, high-stakes environments, operate without a playbook, and default to experimentation and fast iteration over certainty
• BS in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or equivalent technical field (advanced degree preferred)
• Experience operating in large, matrixed organizations with complex stakeholder environments