Lenovo logo
Lenovo Verified
Computer Hardware

Director- Forward Deployed Engineering (Remote)

Morrisville, NCHybridFull Time$280,000–$330,000 /yrPosted 1 month agoVisa sponsorship available

Is this role right for you?

Upload your resume and get a skill-by-skill breakdown — see exactly where you match, where you're close, and what to highlight. Not a mystery percentage.

Get a tailored resume highlighting what this role needs.

Required skills

  • AI transformation
  • Forward Deployed Engineers
  • AI opportunities
  • business needs
  • practical solutions
  • measurable impact
  • short sprint cycles
  • blockers
  • discovery
  • adoption

Nice to have

  • Microsoft AI platforms
  • Copilot Studio
  • Azure OpenAI
  • M365
  • Power Platform
  • clear communicator

Role summary

Lenovo is seeking a Director of Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) to lead a team of engineers embedded within business functions to drive an AI transformation program. This hands-on technical leadership role involves identifying AI opportunities, translating business needs into practical solutions, and delivering measurable impact through short sprint cycles. The Director will partner with stakeholders to guide execution, define the FDE practice, and ensure scalable AI solutions are built and adopted. Responsibilities include leading the FDE team, coaching them on AI solution design and delivery, defining reusable methods and standards, driving user adoption, and communicating progress to executive audiences. The role requires 15+ years of experience in software engineering, solutions engineering, or applied AI, with experience managing technical teams and a strong technical depth.

Why Work at Lenovo

We are Lenovo. We do what we say. We own what we do. We WOW our customers. 
Lenovo is a US$83 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #153 in the Fortune Global 500, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver Smarter Technology for All, Lenovo has built on its success as the world’s largest PC company with a full-stack portfolio of AI-enabled, AI-ready, and AI-optimized devices (PCs, workstations, smartphones, tablets), infrastructure (server, storage, edge, high performance computing and software defined infrastructure), software, solutions, and services. Lenovo’s continued investment in world-changing innovation is building a more equitable, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange under Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY).
This transformation together with Lenovo’s world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. To find out more visit www.lenovo.com, and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.

Description and Requirements

Description and Requirements

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

As an FDE Director, 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.

What You Will Do

Discover and Define

  • 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.

Lead Delivery and Practice Development

  • 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.

Drive Adoption and Impact

  • 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.

Communicate and Collaborate

  • 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.

What We’re Looking For

Required

  • 15 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.

Preferred

  • 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.

What Success Looks Like

  • 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.

We offer flexibility in where you work! This role is eligible for remote work. If you live within commuting distance of our Chicago, IL or Raleigh, NC offices, you'll enjoy a hybrid schedule with three days in the office and two days working from home each week. If you're located outside of these areas, you'll have the opportunity to work remotely, based on business needs.
“In CA, CO, CT, DC, HI IL, MD, MA, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OR, RI, WA the base salary range budgeted for this position is $280,000 – $330,000 (annually). Individuals may also be considered for bonuses and/or commissions. Lenovo’s various benefits can be found at www.lenovobenefits.com” We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any federal, state, or local protected class. Additional Locations: * United States of America - North Carolina - Morrisville

General Information

Req # WD00104030 Career area: Hardware Engineering Country/Region: United States of America State: North Carolina City: Morrisville Date: Friday, August 14, 2026 Working time: Full-time Additional Locations: * United States of America - North Carolina - Morrisville

Sample Lenovo interview questions

  • 1

    Clone an Undirected Graph Clone an undirected graph. Input: adjList = [[]] Output: [[]] Explanation: Creates a new, deeply cloned graph containing only one single node with zero connected neighbors.

    codingmedium
  • 2

    Iterator over a Binary Search Tree Implement an iterator over a binary search tree. Input: root = [7,3,15,null,null,9,20], calls: next(), hasNext(), next() Output: 3, TRUE, 7 Explanation: The iterator yields the smallest value (3), confirms more nodes exist, then properly yields the next in-order value (7).

    codingmedium

Get started to unlock a personalized interview prep pack for this role.

Ready to apply?
You'll be redirected to Lenovo's application page.

Similar roles

See how RiseMe works

Match, tailor, and prep so you send fewer applications and land more interviews.