Director- Forward Deployed Engineering [FDE]

Description and Requirements

Lenovo Solutions & Services Group is running a company-wide AI transformation programme, embedding engineering talent directly inside business functions. Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) are the builders at the centre of that model.

As an FDE Manager, you will lead a team of Forward Deployed Engineers embedded across business functions, ensuring they identify high-value AI opportunities, translate business needs into practical solutions, and deliver measurable impact through short sprint cycles. You will partner closely with Domain Leaders, senior stakeholders, and platform teams to guide execution, remove blockers, and ensure every engagement moves from discovery to adoption with clear business outcomes.

The right candidate is a hands-on technical leader who can manage and develop a high-performing FDE team while also defining and shaping the FDE practice for Lenovo Solutions & Services Group. This role requires strong engineering judgment, business partnership, people leadership, and the ability to establish repeatable practices that help FDEs deliver scalable AI solutions across functions.

Lead a team of FDEs embedded in business functions, helping them work with Domain Leaders and subject matter experts to map workflows, surface pain points, and identify high-value AI opportunities.

Set standards for how FDEs translate business problems into scoped, deliverable use cases, balancing ambition with what is practical to build, deploy, and adopt.

Guide FDEs in designing and building AI solutions using the right tools for the problem, including Microsoft AI and productivity platforms, RAG pipelines, agent workflows, automation tooling, and custom development where needed.

Coach the team to prototype quickly, test with real users, and iterate within short sprint cycles while maintaining strong engineering discipline.

Define reusable FDE methods, playbooks, delivery standards, and quality expectations that can scale across squads and business functions.

Hold the team accountable for adoption as well as technical delivery, ensuring FDEs work with change resources and business owners so solutions are used in day-to-day operations.

Review feedback after deployment, identify patterns across engagements, and use lessons learned to improve the FDE operating model over time.

Shape the long-term FDE practice, including engagement models, role expectations, reusable assets, and mechanisms for measuring business impact.

Serve as the senior bridge between business stakeholders, FDEs, data teams, and platform partners, ensuring priorities, constraints, and technical decisions are clearly understood.

Provide clear executive-level updates on team progress, delivery risks, adoption outcomes, and tradeoffs to technical and senior non-technical audiences.

10 or more years in software engineering, solutions engineering, applied AI, or a closely related technical leadership role, including experience managing technical teams.

Strong technical depth and willingness to be hands-on when needed, including reviewing designs, troubleshooting complex issues, validating prototypes, and helping the team make sound engineering decisions.

Experience leading teams that build and deploy AI, automation, or intelligent workflow solutions in real business settings.

Experience with Microsoft AI platforms: Copilot Studio, Azure OpenAI, M365, Power Platform.

Clear communicator and people leader; able to explain technical decisions in plain language, coach FDEs through complex delivery situations, and build trust with business and leadership audiences.

Proven ability to define operating models, delivery playbooks, technical standards, and talent development practices for a growing engineering function.

Strong engineering judgment with enough hands-on depth to review solution approaches, challenge assumptions, and guide teams when off-the-shelf tooling is not sufficient.

Background in technical consulting, solutions architecture, customer-facing engineering, or leadership of field engineering teams.

Experience with change enablement, user adoption, or process redesign alongside technical delivery.

FDE teams consistently deliver working solutions into users’ hands at the end of each sprint, not decks or isolated proofs of concept.

Measurable business outcomes: time saved, processes improved, decisions made faster.

A strong FDE team with clear expectations, coaching, delivery discipline, and a shared understanding of what excellent field deployment looks like.

A repeatable FDE practice that can scale across functions, improve with each engagement, and become a durable capability for Lenovo Solutions & Services Group.