AWS is seeking a Sr. Technical Business Development Manager to own the go-to-market strategy that gives a fast-growing forward deployed engineering (FDE) organization durable access to the engineers it needs to grow. Forward deployed engineers pair deep production software experience with direct customer engagement: they work alongside customers to solve complex technical problems, build production solutions, and turn emerging technology into scalable outcomes. The market for this talent is specialized and competitive, and winning in it requires a deliberate strategy, real investment, and subject matter fluency in the work itself.
You will own that strategy end to end. You will build a fact-based view of the talent market, define where AWS should compete and invest, and develop the business cases, investment proposals, and executive narratives that fund and direct that work. You will structure and manage a portfolio of external relationships, with technical communities, professional networks, industry groups, and conference organizations, as channels that give AWS credible access to experienced engineers. You will carry measurable goals for qualified pipeline, orchestrate delivery across engineering, marketing, communications, events, finance, legal, and Talent Acquisition without direct authority, and use market and conversion data to decide where to expand, redirect, or exit. You own the strategy and the business outcome; partner teams run execution and operations, and Talent Acquisition owns candidate outreach, assessment, and hiring at the downstream hand-off.
This role requires technical fluency in forward deployed engineering and the AI and cloud landscape, strong business judgment, and the ability to create clarity in an ambiguous environment where strategy, plan, and stakeholders are not predefined. You will advise senior leaders, negotiate and structure external engagements, and align teams you do not own. Travel: 30 to 50%.
Key job responsibilities
Own the go-to-market strategy for building durable access to forward deployed engineering talent. Translate the organization's growth plans and engineering needs into where AWS competes, which segments to prioritize, and how to allocate investment.
Build a fact-based view of the talent market: concentration, candidate motivations, competitive dynamics, geography, and emerging sources of qualified engineers.
Develop the external value proposition for FDE opportunities at AWS, grounded in technical credibility with experienced engineering audiences.
Build business cases, investment proposals, and operating plans for new pipeline initiatives, and carry the goals and performance measures that judge their return.
Structure and manage a portfolio of external relationships (technical communities, professional networks, industry groups, conference organizations) as channels for reaching relevant engineers. Negotiate the terms and model of AWS participation.
Orchestrate delivery across engineering, marketing, communications, events, finance, legal, operations, and Talent Acquisition, owning the business outcome while partner teams run execution.
Establish the mechanisms that connect external engagement to the recruiting process: shared goals, pipeline attribution, feedback loops, and operating rhythms with partner teams.
Measure market reach, audience quality, qualified pipeline, program efficiency, and conversion. Recommend where AWS should expand, redirect, replicate, or discontinue investment.
Identify repeatable, scalable approaches that extend across technical disciplines, markets, and business teams while holding AWS's quality bar.
Advise senior leaders on market position, pipeline strategy, investment requirements, and risks to the growth plan. Represent AWS credibly with technical leaders, engineering communities, and executive audiences.
A day in the life
Your work centers on how AWS builds sustained access to the specialized talent forward deployed engineering depends on. You will work with FDE leaders to understand growth plans, technical priorities, and future capability needs, then translate those into a market strategy, an investment thesis, and a portfolio of initiatives. Much of the role is strategic and deal-oriented: you might decide AWS should compete in a specific engineering community, build the business case for a flagship initiative around an emerging discipline, and negotiate the terms of AWS's participation with an external organization. You will define the audience and business outcome, secure investment, align contributors across the org, and set the goals and quality bar, while partner teams handle delivery and logistics. You will track portfolio performance and shifts in the AI and engineering talent market, use pipeline and conversion insight to see which markets and initiatives produce the strongest return, and advise senior leaders on opportunities, investment choices, and risks. Success is whether your strategy creates a scalable, durable source of qualified forward deployed engineering talent.
About the team
You will support a growing AWS engineering organization that builds and deploys production solutions for complex customer challenges. Its forward deployed engineers combine deep technical expertise with close customer collaboration, working across disciplines to turn ambitious ideas and emerging technology into real-world outcomes in a space shaped by rapid advances in AI, cloud, and modern software development. Its growth depends on attracting engineers who can pair technical delivery with customer engagement and business ownership, and this role owns the market strategy and investment that make that access possible.
