Forward Deployed Engineer job in Chicago

Spaulding Ridge is an advisory and IT implementation firm. We help global organizations get financial clarity into the complex, daily sales, and operational decisions that impact profitable revenue generations, efficient operational performance, and reliable financial management.

At Spaulding Ridge, we believe all business is personal. Core to our values is our relationships with our clients, our business partners, our team, and the global community. Our employees dedicate their time to helping our clients transform their business, from strategy through implementation and business transformation.

Spaulding Ridge offers executive-level, practical advice to scale your business. Stated simply, we deliver best-in-cloud advisory and IT services.

We believe that all business is personal. Core to our values are our relationships with our clients, our business partners, our own team, and the global community. Spaulding Ridge is dedicated to helping our clients transform their business, from strategy through implementation and business transformation to AIM, ELEVATE, and EVOLVE.

What You Will Do

As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll be responsible for scoping, designing, implementing, and testing modern data, analytics, and application solutions for our clients. This role sits at the intersection of software engineering, Snowflake architecture, data engineering, BI/reporting, and client advisory.

Working closely with our client partners, you'll develop relationships with key business and technical stakeholders while building tangible business value through scalable data platforms, intuitive reporting experiences, and data-driven applications. You will help clients move away from manual reporting, fragmented data sources, and disconnected systems toward trusted, governed, and actionable analytics.

We hire individuals that are passionate about solving problems and bringing innovative ideas to our clients and our team. As a growing firm, you will be given the opportunity to engage clients from the proposal phase through architecture, delivery, enablement, and support, while helping build and mentor a team of experts within our Data Solutions practice., As a Full Stack Developer, you will also gain exposure to an early stage growth company providing innovative opportunities to impact our clients in a meaningful way. You will help shape how Spaulding Ridge delivers Snowflake-centered data platforms, reporting stacks, and data products at scale.

You will be expected to lead from both the front and the keyboard: advising executives, designing architecture, mentoring teams, and staying close enough to the technology to guide implementation decisions with credibility.

We believe giving back is core to our values, so as a manager-level leader you will be given the opportunity to participate in SR's day of service, giving back to the global community.

• Ability to collaborate with client stakeholders and internal team members to design and implement technology that aligns with client business objectives.

• Ability to lead end-to-end solution architecture across source systems, integration layers, Snowflake, transformation logic, semantic/reporting layers, APIs, and user-facing applications.

• Ability to build mock Proofs of Concept for Snowflake-backed reporting, analytics applications, data products, and integrations across cloud-based and on-premise business systems.

• Ability to work with modern data technologies such as Snowflake, dbt, Fivetran, Boomi, MuleSoft, Workato, Matillion, Airflow, Sigma, Power BI, Tableau, Looker, Omni, and other key offerings.

• Ability to design and build full stack applications using modern front-end and back-end technologies, including JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js, Python, FastAPI, Flask, .NET, Java, or comparable frameworks.

• Ability to identify issues and structural problems across data architecture, reporting processes, integration patterns, and application design, then generate actionable recommendations using standard methodologies that you may be required to develop.

• Ability to demonstrate a clear understanding of client business needs, goals, metrics, reporting requirements, and operating model constraints.

• Ability to develop solutions by designing system specifications, architectural standards, data models, API patterns, reporting frameworks, and functional requirements.

• Ability to lead Snowflake architecture decisions including database design, warehouse strategy, RBAC/security, ingestion patterns, performance tuning, cost optimization, data sharing, and environment management.

• Ability to design and build scalable data pipelines, transformation layers, dimensional models, semantic layers, certified datasets, KPI frameworks, and analytics-ready reporting structures.

• Ability to advise clients on when to use dashboards, semantic layers, data products, custom applications, embedded analytics, workflow tools, or operational reporting solutions.

• Ability to manage and develop talent of assigned junior resources through architecture reviews, code reviews, SQL/modeling reviews, technical coaching, and delivery mentorship.

• Ability to support sales cycles by leading discovery workshops, scoping sessions, solution design discussions, oral presentations, and proof-of-concept builds for potential clients.

• Ability to balance hands-on development with solution architecture, delivery leadership, client advisory, and business value creation.

Travel:

Travel as needed for client engagements, workshops, key stakeholder meetings, and internal team events.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or higher, or a combination of relevant education and experience.

• Minimum 7+ years of professional consulting or relevant industry experience, which may include software engineering, data engineering, analytics engineering, solution architecture, enterprise data platform implementations, business transformation, and client-facing delivery.

• Strong hands-on experience with Snowflake architecture, SQL development, data modeling, data platform design, performance tuning, role-based access controls, and production implementation.

• Experience designing and implementing modern reporting and analytics solutions using tools such as Power BI, Sigma, Tableau, Looker, Omni, or comparable BI platforms.

• Experience building semantic layers, governed metrics, certified datasets, KPI frameworks, and reusable reporting models.

• Strong full stack development background, including front-end development, back-end/API development, application architecture, authentication/authorization, logging, error handling, and deployment practices.

• Experience developing APIs and integrations using REST, JSON, OAuth, service authentication, and secure data access patterns.

• Experience with dbt or comparable transformation and analytics engineering frameworks.

• Experience with Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, SQL, and at least one modern back-end application framework.

• Experience with Git, CI/CD, code review practices, testing, environment management, and modern software delivery workflows.

• Experience designing and implementing data pipelines using ELT, ETL, iPaaS, orchestration, or cloud-native tooling.

• Strong understanding of data quality, reconciliation, lineage, observability, governance, privacy, and security practices.

• Strong understanding of IT standards and compliance topics such as COBIT, ITIL, SOX, GDPR, data privacy, access controls, and auditability.

• Outstanding analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills required.

• Project management experience is a plus, including maintaining a prioritized worklist, managing delivery risks, estimating effort, and understanding financial views of projects.

• Ability to manage projects and teams against planned work.

• Responsible for managing day-to-day client relationships on projects, including expectations, risks, escalations, executive communication, and delivery outcomes.

• Support sales cycles by leading orals sessions, scoping workshops, architecture discussions, and POC solutions for potential clients.

• Experience leading a team of developers, data engineers, analysts, and subject matter experts across design, build, test, deployment, and enablement phases.

• Experience with ERP, CRM, finance, operations, supply chain, healthcare, private equity, or enterprise reporting use cases is a plus.

• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP is a plus.

• Snowflake certification, including SnowPro Core, SnowPro Advanced Architect, or SnowPro Advanced Data Engineer, is strongly preferred.

• Good to have experience with Snowpark, Cortex, Streamlit, Native Apps, data sharing, Apache Iceberg, Microsoft Fabric interoperability, or AI/ML use cases on Snowflake.

• Good to have experience with application deployment, containerization, serverless patterns, DevOps, infrastructure as code, or cloud-native application hosting.

• Good to have experience with AI-assisted development, LLM-enabled analytics, RAG patterns, automated report narratives, or data application use cases.

Spaulding Ridge is committed to helping team members thrive in their work and life, and we invest in comprehensive total rewards to support this goal.

Our benefits include generous time off, paid holidays, paid parental leave, a 401(k) with company match, and highly subsidized health, dental, and vision plans. We also offer company-paid life and disability insurance, a monthly allowance for well-being and technology expenses, and reimbursement for approved learning and development initiatives within defined limits.

Spaulding Ridge is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The base salary range for this position in the United States across locations is reflected below. In addition, this role may be eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. Actual compensation will be determined based on a range of factors, including skills, experience, qualifications, and location. Please note that the range provided is subject to change at any time in accordance with internal policies and applicable law.

Salary Range

$116,000-$223,000 USD

Spaulding Ridge's Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace

When we engage the expertise, insights, and creativity of people from all walks of life, we become a better organization, we deliver superior services to clients, and we transform our communities and world for the better.

At Spaulding Ridge, we believe our team should reflect the rich diversity of society and we take seriously the responsibility to cultivate a workplace where every bandmate feels accepted, respected, and valued for who they are. We do this by creating a culture of trust and belonging, through practices and policies that support inclusion, and through our employee led Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): CRE (Cultural Race and Ethnicity), Women Elevate, PROUD and Mental Wellness Alliance.