Forward Deployed Engineer
Sonata Software North America Inc.
About the Role
The Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) – AI Business Transformation Associate role is an onsite position in Redmond, Washington, USA, with potential customer deployments within the USA upon successful completion of the FDE Program.
Key Responsibilities
- Participate in Sonata's Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) Program and complete all required training before customer deployment.
- Support customer transformation initiatives through AI-led process modernization and business transformation.
- Assist in discovery workshops, business process mapping, and requirements gathering under technical supervision.
- Contribute to solution design, testing, deployment, adoption, and change management activities.
- Analyze business processes, identify controls, hand-offs, bottlenecks, and opportunities for AI-driven improvements.
- Measure process effectiveness through cycle-time, quality, and error-rate analysis.
- Collaborate with customer stakeholders, project teams, and mentors to ensure successful solution implementation.
- Work closely with a USA-based mentor and customer teams to drive adoption of AI-enabled solutions.
Requirements & Tech Stack
- MBA graduate (Class of 2025 or 2026).
- No prior professional work experience required.
- Demonstrated technology, process, or domain expertise through academic projects, capstones, internships, or research.
- Valid authorization to work in the United States.
- Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
- Willingness to work onsite in Redmond, Washington and travel/relocate within the USA for customer deployments.
Mandatory Skills
- Domain Knowledge (Academic Project Experience in One or More Areas)
- Supply Chain
- Back-Office Finance
- CRM Delivery
- Healthcare / Life Sciences / Pharma
- BFSI (Mortgage, Lending, Payment Services)
- Retail & Manufacturing (Logistics, Distribution, Specialty Retail)
- Business Process Skills
- Business process mapping and documentation
- Understanding of controls, workflows, and hand-offs
- Process improvement and optimization
- AI-led process reimagination
- Cycle-time and error analysis
- AI & Technology Skills
- Demonstrated hands-on AI usage through projects, certifications, or personal initiatives
- Familiarity with Generative AI, AI productivity tools, or automation platforms
- Strong technology aptitude and learning mindset
Good to Have Skills
- AI, Data Analytics, Business Transformation, or Process Improvement certifications
- Experience with Microsoft, Salesforce, ERP, CRM, Supply Chain, Finance, or Healthcare-related academic projects
- Self-driven learning demonstrated through certifications, hackathons, AI portfolios, or personal builds
- Customer-centric problem-solving approach
- Ability to learn quickly, accept feedback, and work effectively in cross-functional teams
About Sonata Software
Sonata Software is an AI-first modernization engineering company that helps enterprises transform legacy systems into intelligent, scalable business platforms. Powered by its Platformation™ framework and Harmoni.AI platform, Sonata delivers AI-led modernization across cloud, data, AI, Dynamics, test automation, and managed services. Headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Sonata has more than $1.2 billion in revenue and 6,400+ AI engineers supporting global delivery across regions including the US, UK, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, DACH, and the Nordics. With deep partnerships across Microsoft, AWS, Salesforce, and Snowflake, Sonata helps Fortune 500 enterprises accelerate innovation, improve efficiency, and drive sustainable growth.