Customer Architect (Forward Deployed Engineer)
About the role
We are seeking a highly technical and customer-focused Customer Architect (Forward Deployed Engineer) to join our Customer Success team in the U.S (West Coast).
As a Customer Architect, you will operate in a Forward Deployed Engineer model — embedding deeply with customers to solve complex technical challenges, accelerate adoption, and deliver measurable business outcomes.
You will act as both a hands-on builder and a strategic advisor, working directly within customer environments to design, implement, and optimize solutions.
Responsibilities
- Embed with customer teams as a hands-on technical partner, working directly in their environments to solve real-world challenges
- Own the technical success of customer implementations across multiple Harness modules
- Act as a bridge between customer teams and Harness Product & Engineering
- Provide hands-on guidance to integrate Harness into existing toolchains and processes
- Design and implement CI/CD, infrastructure, and DevSecOps workflows tailored to customer architectures
- Lead onboarding, implementation, and enablement programs to accelerate time-to-value
- Drive adoption across the breadth of the Harness platform, helping customers expand beyond initial use cases
- Architect solutions that span multiple modules (e.g., pipelines, infrastructure, security, cost optimization)
- Guide customers toward a platform-centric approach rather than fragmented tooling
- Serve as a trusted advisor to engineering and platform leadership
- Develop and execute success plans aligned to business and technical outcomes
- Lead technical reviews and business reviews to demonstrate value and identify growth opportunities
- Analyze usage, pipeline performance, and adoption data to identify gaps and opportunities
- Deliver actionable recommendations across technology, processes, and team practices
- Proactively identify risks to adoption or retention and drive mitigation strategies
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Partner with Product and Engineering to influence roadmap based on customer feedback
- Collaborate with Sales and Customer Success on expansion and renewal strategies
- Contribute to best practices, reference architectures, and enablement content
Requirements
Experience in roles such as Solutions Architect, Customer Success Engineer, Professional Services, or Forward Deployed Engineer
Experience working with platform engineering or internal developer platforms (IDPs)
Relevant certifications (AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform, etc.)
Exposure to security engineering or application security practices
Qualifications
- 7+ years in software engineering, solutions architecture, DevOps, or technical consulting
- Proven ability to lead complex implementations and drive customer outcomes
- Technical Skills (Experience Across Multiple Of The Following): Cloud & Infrastructure, Containers & Orchestration, CI/CD & DevOps, Languages & Scripting, DevSecOps
- Strong problem-solving skills with a hands-on, builder mindset
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence both engineers and senior stakeholders
- Comfortable navigating ambiguity and working in fast-paced environments
- Curiosity and a strong commitment to continuous learning
Skills
- Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS, GCP, Azure, Terraform, CloudFormation, Linux
- Containers & Orchestration: Kubernetes, Helm, Kustomize, OpenShift
- CI/CD & DevOps: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Harness, pipeline design
- Languages & Scripting: Python, Bash, YAML (Go is a plus)
- DevSecOps (preferred): Secure pipeline design and policy enforcement, SAST, DAST, SCA, or supply chain security concepts, Experience integrating security into CI/CD workflows
Benefits
- Competitive salary
- Comprehensive healthcare benefits
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- Flexible work schedule
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Flexible Time Off and Parental Leave
- Monthly, quarterly, and annual social and team building events
- Monthly internet reimbursement
Pay Transparency
The anticipated base salary range for this position is between $160,000 and $180,000 annually. Salary is determined by a combination of factors including location, level, relevant experience, and skills.
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