Senior Manager, Forward Deployed AI Engineer
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Job Location:
San Jose, CA - USA
Yearly Salary:
$ 160200 - 320000
Posted on:
30+ days ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
The Role
You are aplayer-coachwho leads a team of Forward Deployed AI Engineersand Creative Pipeline Specialists building GenAI-powered content production systems for the worlds largest brands. Youdontmanage fromthe sidelines you write code review PRs make architecture calls and unblock your team by rolling up your sleeves. Your technical credibility is your management tool.
Youvebeen on the other side of the table.Youveworked at an agency a creative studio or aMarTechcompany where content gets made at scale so you understand the customers world from the inside. Nowyoureleading the team that transforms those workflows with AI.
Your team is the core of Adobes Forward Deployed Engineering org. You own delivery outcomes team performance and technical quality across multiple customer engagements simultaneously. You build a team that ships fastoperateswith high autonomy and compounds every engagement into reusable capability. You elevate your team through clarity judgment and technical depth not process not status reports not overhead.
What Youll Do
Lead by building.You are hands-on. You contribute directly to production systems writing code reviewing architecture debugging deployments especially when progress or clarity depends on it. Minimum 30% of your time is technical work.
Own delivery outcomes.Drive end-to-end delivery across multiple customer engagements. Scope work sequence delivery remove blockers early and make fast trade-offs between speed scope and quality. Every engagement ties back to measurable value realization and customer adoption not just we shipped it.
Grow a high-performing team.Recruit develop andretainexceptional AI engineers. Set a high bar for performance. Give direct actionable feedback. Build a culture of ownership speed and trust not a culture of meetings and approvals.
Set technicaldirection.Guidearchitecture decisions enforce engineering standards and ensure your team builds scalable reusable systems not throwaway consulting artifacts. You define what production-ready means.
Drive the product feedback loop.Turn field-proven patterns into actionable product roadmap input. You sit at the intersection of customer reality and product strategy and you make sure what your team learns in the field reaches the people building the product.
Scale the org not just the headcount.Codify what works into playbooks shared tooling and reusable frameworks. Build internal capabilities that make everysubsequentengagement faster. You thinkinleverage not just delivery.
Represent the org externally.Showcaseyour teams work at customer workshops internal reviews and industry forums. Publish speak and build the reputation of FDE as a world-class engineering org both for Adobes brand and to attract the best talent.
What You Bring
You still write code.You writeand review production-grade code (Python TypeScript/ React or equivalent). You can debug a deployment review a PR with real feedback and make targeted IC contributions when the team needs it. Youhaventgraduated from engineering you lead from within it.
Engineering managementtrack record.3 years managing high-performing engineering teams (8 total years in software engineering).Youvehired strong engineers grown careers managed performance and builtteamsthat ship.Youveled through ambiguity and delivered under pressure.
Hands-on GenAI experience.Youvebuilt or deployed AI-powered systems LLM integrations RAG pipelines agent frameworks or equivalent. You understand how model behavior shapes product experience. You can make informed architecture decisions about when to use agents when to fine-tune when to prompt-engineer and when to build something entirely different.
AI-native operator.You use Cursor Claude Code Copilot or equivalent daily.Youvebuilt or extended MCP servers experimented with agentic workflows or automated your own teams processes with AI. You push your team to work thiswaytoo.
Creative content supply chain experience.Youvebuilt content production systemsMarTechplatforms asset automation tools or creative workflow technology ideally at an ad agency creative studio or marketing technology company (e.g. Monks Publicis R/GA Accenture Song WPP or similar). You know how creative teams work how content gets produced at scale and what breaks in the process. This is what makes you different from a generic engineering manager.
Customer-facing leadership.Youveworked directly with enterprise customers running technical workshopspresenting tostakeholders embedding with client teams. You earn trust with both the VP of Creative and the lead engineer. Up to 30% travel to customer sites.
Startup speed enterprise judgment.Youveoperatedin fast-moving environments where you had to figure things out without a playbook. You make fast sound decisions under pressure. You simplify complexity instead of adding process.
What Sets You Apart
Former technical founder technical director at an agency or early engineer at a startup whos built a product from scratch
Youvebuilt AI-powered creative production or content automation systems (asset generation creative workflow orchestration template-based production at scale)
Youvemanaged globally distributed teams andknowhow to build cohesion across time zones
You use AI agents to drive your own management workflows scheduling prioritization tracking reporting
Youveintroduced engineering practices (CI/CD DORA metrics code quality standards) into organizations thatdidnthave them
About Adobe
Adobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobes industry-leading offerings including Adobe Acrobat Studio Adobe Express Adobe Firefly Creative Cloud Adobe Experience Platform Adobe Experience Manager and GenStudio enable people and businesses to turn ideas into impact powered by AI and driven by human ingenuity.
Our 30000 employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. Were on a mission to hire the very best and believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. At Adobe we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere in the organization. The next big idea could be yours.
Lets Adobe together
At Adobe we believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. Learn more about Adobe life including our values and culture focus on people purpose and community Adobe for All comprehensive benefits programs the stories we tell the customers we serve and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.
Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender race or color ethnicity or national origin age disability religion sexual orientation gender identity or expression veteran status or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.
Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process email or call 1 .
AI Use Guidelines for Interviews:
Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work your application may not move forward in the process.
At Adobe we empower employees to innovate with AI and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where its restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.
Expected Pay Range:
Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this positionis $$320000 annually. Paywithin this range varies by work locationand may also depend on job-related knowledge skillsand experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.In California the pay range for this position is $221000 - $320000 In New York the pay range for this position is $221000 - $320000
At Adobe for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC base commission) and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).
In addition certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.
State-Specific Notices:
California:
Fair Chance Ordinances
Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and fair chance ordinances.
Colorado:
Application Window Notice
If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting) the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location no specific application window applies and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.
Massachusetts:
Massachusetts Legal Notice
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Required Experience:
Senior Manager
