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Forward Deployed Engineering Manager, AWS Forward Deployed Engineering, US Government

$184,900–$275,200annualizedArlington, VA +3Full-time

Leads a 5–15-person forward-deployed engineering pod delivering production AI systems across concurrent strategic enterprise customer engagements.

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At a glance

Posted base pay

$185K–$275KLevel with the median

Midpoint $230K · median $225K

Compare pay across all Amazon (incl AWS) postings

The work

Leads the deployment team

Balance Mostly pre-sales or support

Project stages

  1. Pre-sales (not covered)
  2. Proof of concept (not covered)
  3. Implementation
  4. Operations

Travel Up to 25%

Coding
Writes production code
Builds for
External customers
Level
Staff+
Role
People manager

What they ask for

Experience

  • 3+ yearsengineering team management
  • 7+ yearsnon-internship professional software development
  • 3+ yearsworking in an Agile, startup, or rapidly scaling environment
  • 3+ yearsleadership development and talent managementPreferred

Background

  • Software engineering

Do you meet what the posting states?

The posting asks for 3+ years. How many do you have?

The posting reads as a staff-level role. What level are you at now?

The job is in Arlington, VA · Seattle, WA · +2 more. Could you work in one of these?

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Conditions

Location
Arlington, VA · Seattle, WA · New York, NY · Denver, CO
Employment type
Full-time
Travel
Up to 25%

More like this

The job description from Amazon (incl AWS)

Posted by Amazon (incl AWS) on

Application deadline: Nov 10, 2026

A Forward Deployed Engineering Manager (FDE Manager) leads a pod of FDEs embedded within strategic enterprise customers, owning delivery execution, engineering quality, and team development for their scope. FDE Managers own pod-level outcomes — they ensure their team delivers production AI systems that meet customer expectations, develop their engineers' careers, and contribute to the broader FDE practice's engineering standards.

FDE Managers operate at pod/multi-pod scope. They lead 5–15 engineers, own technical delivery across one or more concurrent customer engagements, and define what "great" looks like for their team. They represent the FDE team to customer engineering leaders and AWS stakeholders, balancing delivery execution with people development.

This position requires that the candidate selected be a US Citizen and currently possess and maintain an active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph.

Key job responsibilities
Lead FDE pod delivery.
- Own delivery across one or more customer engagements. Staff and structure the team for optimal customer coverage. Define execution cadences and ensure consistent engineering quality across active programs. Requires up to 25% travel.

Guide technical direction.
- Provide technical oversight for customer AI programs within your scope. Review architecture decisions and ensure alignment with customer needs and AWS best practices. Resolve technical blockers and escalate strategically when needed.

Own production excellence for your team.
- Ensure operational standards, evaluation frameworks, and production readiness criteria are met for AI systems your team builds. Drive improvements that raise the operational bar within your scope.

Build and develop the team.
- Hire, develop, and retain FDE talent. Coach junior FDEs toward independence and career growth. Drive performance management and create development plans. Contribute to hiring bar and calibration standards.

Accelerate customer adoption.
- Identify opportunities to expand AI adoption within your customer engagements. Ensure learnings are codified into reusable patterns and fed back into the broader FDE practice.

10047

About the team
ABOUT AWS:

Diverse Experiences
Amazon values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.

Why AWS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Work/Life Balance
We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.

Inclusive Team Culture
AWS values curiosity and connection. Our employee-led and company-sponsored affinity groups promote inclusion and empower our people to take pride in what makes us unique. Our inclusion events foster stronger, more collaborative teams. Our continual innovation is fueled by the bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and passionate voices our teams bring to everything we do.

Mentorship and Career Growth
We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Basic qualifications

3+ years of engineering team management experience
- Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
- 7+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- Current, active US Government Security Clearance of TS/SCI with Polygraph
- 3+ years of experience working in an Agile, startup, or rapidly scaling environment
- Experience communicating technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership
- Experience with agentic and spec-driven development (developing AI agents a plus)
- Experience building or deploying AI/ML applications in production environments at scale

Preferred qualifications

Experience working with teams that build and scale end-to-end production systems
- Experience working in customer production environments
- Experience managing teams in customer-facing or consulting-adjacent engineering roles
- Background leading engineering teams in a startup, high-growth, or rapidly scaling environment
- Prior experience with React, TypeScript, Python, and/or Go
- Experience managing delivery across multiple concurrent customer programs
- 3+ years of leadership development and talent management experience

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, CO, Denver - 184,900.00 - 250,200.00 USD annually
USA, NY, New York - 203,400.00 - 275,200.00 USD annually
USA, VA, Arlington - 184,900.00 - 250,200.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Seattle - 184,900.00 - 250,200.00 USD annually

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