Forward Deployment Engineer / Support Engineer (Director/Team Lead) Coach

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Forward Deployment Engineer / Support Engineer (Director/Team Lead) Coach based in India.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced engineering leader to transform years of technical and people management expertise into meaningful coaching impact. You will work one-on-one with engineering professionals, helping them strengthen their leadership capabilities, navigate organizational challenges, and accelerate their professional development. Drawing on your experience leading forward deployment, support engineering, infrastructure, platform, security, or AI/ML teams, you will provide practical guidance on managing technical complexity while building high-performing organizations. You will help emerging and established leaders navigate hypergrowth, organizational transformation, team scaling, and the transition from hands-on technical responsibilities to strategic leadership. Through personalized virtual coaching, you will empower professionals to improve communication, decision-making, delegation, and stakeholder management. You will also join an international coaching community committed to continuous learning, collaboration, and professional growth. This fully remote, part-time contract opportunity includes structured ICF-certified coach training to help you develop your coaching expertise and expand your impact.

Accountabilities:

Deliver personalized leadership coaching: Conduct one-on-one virtual coaching sessions with members, helping them identify professional challenges, establish meaningful objectives, and develop actionable strategies for leadership growth.
Strengthen engineering leadership capabilities: Guide engineering managers and senior technical professionals in developing effective management approaches, improving communication, delegating responsibilities, prioritizing workloads, and leading through others without losing technical credibility.
Support organizational scaling: Leverage your experience to help members navigate hypergrowth, organizational restructuring, startup-to-scale transitions, and the development of engineering functions from the ground up.
Address technical leadership challenges: Provide practical guidance on managing forward deployment engineering, support engineering, infrastructure, platform, security, and AI/ML teams within complex technology environments.
Develop strategic influence: Help engineering leaders strengthen their visibility, build credibility with internal and external stakeholders, influence decision-making, and demonstrate impact beyond their immediate teams.
Promote professional development: Support members in identifying career goals, overcoming workplace obstacles, strengthening problem-solving skills, and building fulfilling long-term careers.
Maintain ongoing member engagement: Communicate with members between coaching sessions through dedicated email and in-app messaging, ensuring continuity and appropriate support throughout their development journey.
Participate in coaching training: Complete the mandatory ICF-certified coaching program and attend ongoing development sessions to master the coaching methodology and continuously improve coaching effectiveness.
Contribute to the coaching community: Share leadership frameworks, coaching techniques, technical management insights, and practical resources with fellow coaches to strengthen collective expertise.
Create a supportive coaching environment: Demonstrate empathy, kindness, respect, and emotional intelligence while establishing a safe and inclusive space where members feel comfortable discussing professional challenges.
Embrace continuous learning: Maintain a growth mindset, actively develop coaching capabilities, and contribute to a collaborative community focused on helping professionals thrive.
Requirements:
Extensive professional experience: At least 15 years of professional experience, including significant leadership experience in forward deployment engineering, support engineering, or closely related technical functions.
Senior engineering leadership: Proven experience at Director, VP, Team Lead, or equivalent senior management level, with responsibility for managing engineering teams and developing individual contributors and managers.
Technical expertise: Strong understanding of technical organizations, ideally covering one or more of the following areas:
Forward Deployment Engineering and customer-facing engineering.
Support Engineering and technical operations.
Infrastructure and Platform Engineering.
Security Engineering.
Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering.
Technical and managerial balance: Demonstrated ability to manage meaningful technical responsibilities while leading teams, delegating effectively, prioritizing competing demands, and maintaining technical credibility.
Organizational transformation experience: Proven ability to lead teams through rapid growth, organizational change, startup-to-scale transitions, and the creation or expansion of engineering functions in ambiguous environments.
Stakeholder management: Experience influencing stakeholders and building credibility both within an organization and externally, particularly when working with customers and their technical teams.
Strategic leadership: Ability to help engineering professionals develop broader organizational influence, improve their leadership visibility, and connect technical execution with business objectives.
People development experience: Strong track record of mentoring, developing, and coaching engineers, engineering managers, or other technical professionals.
Passion for coaching: Genuine interest in transforming executive and people leadership experience into effective coaching skills and helping others build fulfilling professional lives.
Emotional intelligence: High self-awareness, empathy, active listening skills, and the ability to create psychologically safe environments where individuals feel comfortable being vulnerable.
Growth mindset: Enthusiasm for continuous learning and willingness to develop coaching capabilities, regardless of previous coaching experience.
Adaptability: Comfort working in dynamic, fast-paced startup environments where priorities and organizational needs evolve.
Communication skills: Excellent interpersonal and communication abilities, with the confidence to engage with senior technical professionals and address complex leadership challenges.
Coaching certification: Previous coaching experience or a recognized coaching certification is an advantage but is not mandatory.
International experience: Previous experience working for a US-headquartered technology company or a global technology organization operating across multiple offices is a plus.
Availability: Ability to dedicate at least 12 hours per month, equivalent to approximately 3–5 hours per week, to coaching activities.
Long-term commitment: Willingness to commit to a minimum engagement period of 24 months to establish meaningful and lasting relationships with members.
Training commitment: Willingness to successfully complete the mandatory ICF-certified coaching program before beginning coaching assignments.
Benefits:
Fully remote opportunity: Work remotely with flexibility, subject to coaching commitments and scheduling requirements.
Part-time contract arrangement: An opportunity designed for experienced engineering executives who want to expand their professional impact while maintaining other commitments.
Hourly compensation: Receive a fixed hourly rate for coaching services.
Additional performance incentives: Access to selected bonuses linked to member engagement and community growth.
ICF-certified coach training: Participate in an immersive, structured coaching development program designed to strengthen your coaching capabilities.
Continuing Coach Education (CCE) units: Earn recognized continuing education units upon successful completion of the coaching training program.
Exclusive coaching resources: Gain access to proprietary coaching tools, frameworks, and methodologies to support effective one-to-one coaching.
Ongoing professional development: Benefit from continued training sessions, peer learning, and collaboration with an international community of experienced coaches.
Meaningful professional impact: Help engineering leaders overcome complex workplace challenges, develop their management capabilities, and build successful and fulfilling careers.
Collaborative community: Join an inclusive environment that values empathy, diverse perspectives, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
Additional information about the engagement:
This is a contract-based position with hourly compensation and selected performance-based bonuses.
Coaches must be available for approximately 3–5 hours per week and commit to a minimum 24-month engagement.
New coaches are onboarded progressively according to membership demand and the needs of client organizations.
Candidates who successfully complete the selection process may receive an invitation to the next monthly coaching training program or be added to the coach shortlist until a suitable opportunity becomes available.
Successful completion of the mandatory ICF-certified coaching program is required before being matched with members.