Senior Forward Deploy Engineer

About the Company Ironwood Digital is the hyperscaler for the edge, delivering modular AI infrastructure from first deployment to AI factory with speed, scale and sovereignty. Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies and to the CNBC Disruptor 50, Ironwood Digital’s solutions are deployed in over 60 countries globally for organizations ranging from energy to defense. With nearly $500 million in funding to date, Ironwood Digital is backed by leading investors including Founders Fund, Lux, BlackRock and Microsoft (M12), alongside strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Dell, Palantir, NVIDIA, SpaceX, and Skydio. We are building the infrastructure layer for sovereign and edge AI - rugged, deployable compute for customers that cannot rely on centralized cloud. Working at Ironwood Digital means taking ownership, driving autonomy, and delivering impact. You’ll tackle challenges that haven’t been solved before and help build something transformative from the ground up. What you do here will not only define your career but help further Ironwood Digital’s mission to bridge the digital divide for customers around the world. About Ironwood Digital Ironwood Digital delivers sovereign, industrial-grade AI infrastructure designed to operate where traditional cloud and centralized data center models fall short. Our platform includes Atlas as the control plane, Galleon containerized and modular edge data centers powered by the Ironwood Digital Edge Platform, and Leviathan, Ironwood Digital’s AI Factory, and Bridge, our GPU-as-a-Service offering. Together, these capabilities enable enterprises and governments to deploy, operate, and scale AI and other HPC workloads securely and efficiently across highly regulated and mission-critical environments. North America is a core growth region for Ironwood Digital, spanning large enterprises, public sector customers, and infrastructure-heavy industries. Ironwood Digital is also partnering with the Government on the Genesis program. Customers expect senior technical partners who can move quickly from deployment to production, integrate cleanly with existing enterprise stacks, and remain accountable long after go-live. Role Overview The Senior Customer Solutions Engineer for AMER is a senior technical role responsible for driving successful outcomes across the full customer lifecycle, from initial solution design and workload activation through long-term adoption and expansion. This role is purpose-built for industrial edge environments where OT/IT integration complexity, regulatory constraints, and operational continuity requirements demand a solutions-oriented and systems thinking engineering partner. This role spans a customer based within industries including energy, mining, and public sector environments where Ironwood Digital’s Galleon platform delivers its highest differentiated value. The Senior CSE owns workload activation and expansion on the Galleon, integrates Ironwood Digital’s edge infrastructure into complex industrial and enterprise environments, and drives sustained platform adoption across sites and use cases. This role reports into the Sr. Director of Customer Success & Delivery, Americas & US Federal. Success is measured by workload activation velocity, Galleon platform adoption depth, expansion across sites and use cases, and the strength of technical relationships in industrial accounts across North America. Key Responsibilities Industrial edge deployment and Galleon workload activation Lead Galleon workload activation across industrial customer environments, including OT application onboarding, Ironwood Digital Edge Platform configuration, and production readiness validation Act as the Ironwood Digital trusted advisor and SME from pilot to production-scale in the United States and Canada, including multi-site and hybrid configurations Design and execute OT/IT integration architecture, bridging industrial control systems, SCADA, historian, and process automation layers with Ironwood Digital’s edge AI platform Make real-time technical decisions across hardware, networking, Kubernetes, storage, and GPU layers in constrained industrial site conditions Partner with customers to architect end-to-end edge solutions that integrate Galleon infrastructure with existing OT/IT ecosystems Conduct site readiness assessments and field surveys across industrial facilities to facilitate frictionless Galleon deployments, including power, network, and physical infrastructure review Technical account ownership and customer success Serve as the primary technical point of contact (L1) for assigned North American customers post go-live Own the technical success plan, adoption milestones, and operational maturity roadmap Build trusted, long-term relationships with account executives, customer engineering, HW and SW engineering, Product team, as well as data & AI teams Lead technical governance discussions, roadmap planning, and platform optimization conversations and collaborates with AEs to deliver QBRs Acts as primary contact during escalations Joint Success Plan ownership Build, maintain, and actively drive Joint Success Plans (JSPs) for each assigned customer Align deployment milestones, platform adoption, and operational maturity to customer business objectives Use the Joint Success Plan as the primary framework for prioritization, execution, risk management, and value tracking Regularly review progress against success plans with customer stakeholders and Ironwood Digital leadership Ensure JSPs inform deployment sequencing, adoption strategy, roadmap discussions, and expansion planning Surface risks, dependencies, and blockers early and drive resolution with clear ownership Workload expansion and platform adoption Accelerate time-to-value in industrial edge environments by driving rapid workload operationalization on the Galleon platform, from initial activation through stable production Drive Galleon workload expansion across new industrial applications, operational domains, business units, and physical sites Identify and pursue expansion opportunities including additional Galleon deployments and workloads Drive improved operational efficiency by integrating workloads into the Ironwood Digital Marketplace for scalable deployment Operational excellence and reliability Ensure customer environments remain stable, secure, and production-ready Proactively identify scaling risks, architectural gaps, and technical debt Coordinate with Product, Engineering, and Support teams to resolve issues efficiently Data residency, security, and regulatory execution Operate confidently within US and Canadian data residency, privacy, and security expectations Support customer security reviews, audits, and governance processes Balance global delivery standards with regional regulatory and customer requirements Maintain disciplined access control, documentation, and operational hygiene Field leadership and mentorship Act as a senior technical presence for North American customers, setting the bar for execution and customer engagement Mentor junior FDEs, TAMs, and delivery engineers as the region scales Contribute to deployment standards, runbooks, and repeatable best practices Cross-functional collaboration Partner closely with the Sr. Director of Customer Success & Delivery, Americas on priorities and escalations Work with Sales on expansion planning while maintaining a trusted post-sale posture Provide structured feedback to Product and Engineering teams based on real customer usage Qualifications and Experience 8+ years of experience in solutions engineering, systems integration, field engineering, or technical customer-facing roles, with at least 3 years in industrial or OT-adjacent environments Proven experience with OT/IT integration, including familiarity with industrial protocols (Modbus, OPC-UA, PROFIBUS, or equivalent), SCADA systems, historians, and process automation environments Hands-on experience deploying and operationalizing applications at the edge, including containerized workload management, Kubernetes, and distributed infrastructure in constrained environments Demonstrated ability to own the full customer technical lifecycle — from solution scoping and workload activation through expansion planning and long-term account ownership Willingness to travel across North America as required Clear, confident communication style suited for both operational technology (OT) engineers on the plant floor and executive stakeholders in industrial organizations Preferred Experience Industry background in one or more of: energy (oil & gas, power generation), manufacturing, mining, or aerospace & defense Direct experience with industrial edge computing, modular data centers, or ruggedized infrastructure deployed in operational environments (offshore, remote, classified, or hazardous area) Experience deploying and operationalizing AI, ML, or HPC workloads on edge infrastructure, including GPU-accelerated compute and real-time inference pipelines in industrial settings Familiarity with industrial certification frameworks such as IEC 62443, ISA/IEC standards, NORSOK, DNV, MIL-SPEC, or equivalent regulatory environments relevant to the target industries Solutions architecture or pre-sales engineering background, with ability to translate complex industrial customer requirements into edge platform designs and workload activation plans Comfort operating with ambiguity and owning outcomes end to end What Success Looks Like Galleon workloads are activated and operationalized rapidly across industrial customer environments, with measurable time-to-value benchmarks met at each site OT/IT integration challenges are resolved cleanly, with Ironwood Digital’s edge platform embedded into customer industrial architectures as a trusted operational layer Workload footprint expands across industrial sites, use cases, and business units — with the CSE as the trusted technical anchor driving that growth Industrial customers view Ironwood Digital as the strategic edge AI infrastructure partner for their most demanding operational environments Adoption expands across Galleon workloads, industrial sites, and operational domains without handoff friction or account fragmentation Customers view Ironwood Digital as a strategic edge AI infrastructure partner due to the depth and consistency of technical ownership delivered by the Senior CSE Compensation & Benefits For U.S. Based candidates: To ensure fairness and transparency, the on-target earnings salary range for this role for candidates in the U.S. are listed, varying based on location experience, skills, and qualifications. In addition to the salary, this role will also be offered equity and subsidized benefits (details available upon request). Benefits Medical, dental, and vision (subsidized cost) Health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), and dependent care FSAs (DCFSA) Retirement plan options, including 401(k) and Roth 401(k) Unlimited paid time off (PTO) 14 paid company holidays per year #LI-Remote #HP-1 Compensation $188,000 — $235,000 USD You're a Great Fit if You're A go-getter with a growth mindset. You're intellectually curious, have strong business acumen, and actively seek opportunities to build relevant skills and knowledge A detail-oriented problem-solver. You can independently gather information, solve problems efficiently, and deliver results with a "get-it-done" attitude Thrive in a fast-paced environment. You're energized by an entrepreneurial spirit, capable of working quickly, and excited to contribute to a growing company A collaborative team player. You focus on business success and are motivated by team accomplishment vs personal agenda Highly organized and results-driven. Strong prioritization skills and a dedicated work ethic are essential for you Equal Opportunity Statement At Ironwood Digital, we are committed to fostering a work environment where everyone is given equal opportunities to thrive. As an equal opportunity employer, we strictly prohibit discrimination or harassment based on race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy applies to all employment decisions, including hiring, promotions, and compensation. Our hiring is guided by qualifications, merit, and the business needs at the time. Unsolicited Resumes and Candidates Ironwood Digital does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from external agencies or recruiters. All candidates must apply directly through our careers page. Any resumes submitted by agencies without a prior signed agreement will be considered unsolicited and Ironwood Digital will not be obligated to pay any fees.