Senior Director, Field Application Engineering at Sonatus

Sunnyvale, California, United States

Sonatus Logo
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Automotive, TechnologyIndustries

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
  • Minimum 15 years of experience in the automotive or embedded software industry, including leadership roles in technical customer-facing organizations
  • Deep understanding of automotive software stacks, including AUTOSAR, functional safety (ISO 26262), cybersecurity, and real-time embedded systems

Responsibilities

  • Lead, mentor, and grow a global team of Field Application Engineers supporting OEMs, Tier-1s, and ecosystem partners
  • Define and execute the FAE organization’s strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and customer success goals
  • Establish best practices for technical engagement, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement across regional teams
  • Serve as the primary technical liaison between customer engineering organizations and internal product and R&D teams
  • Drive customer success through proactive engagement, architecture guidance, and technical issue resolution
  • Build strong relationships with engineering leaders at key automotive customers, understanding their roadmaps, challenges, and requirements
  • Represent the company’s technical capabilities in executive-level discussions, technical workshops, and design reviews
  • Provide structured feedback from the field to influence product roadmaps, feature prioritization, and long-term technology strategy
  • Collaborate closely with product management, software engineering, and AI research teams to ensure customer requirements are translated into robust, scalable solutions
  • Identify gaps in product capabilities and coordinate with internal teams to develop enablement tools, reference designs, and documentation
  • Develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for global FAE effectiveness and customer satisfaction
  • Oversee technical training programs to ensure the FAE organization stays current with evolving software, AI, and automotive standards
  • Champion a customer-centric, data-driven approach to support planning and resource allocation

Skills

Embedded Software
Automotive Software
Field Application Engineering
Team Leadership
OEM Support
Tier-1 Suppliers
AI Solutions
Software-Defined Vehicles

Sonatus

Platform for software-defined vehicle development

About Sonatus

Sonatus provides a platform for developing software-defined vehicles, focusing on a no-code solution that allows automotive companies to create flexible software architectures. This platform enables the collection and analysis of real-time diagnostic data from vehicles, which helps manufacturers like Hyundai Motor Group to continuously enhance vehicle quality and the ownership experience. Unlike competitors, Sonatus offers a comprehensive solution that spans the entire vehicle lifecycle, from design to after-sales services, allowing for faster innovation and cost reduction. The goal of Sonatus is to drive continuous improvement in automotive software, capitalizing on the increasing demand for software-defined vehicles globally.

Sunnyvale, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2018Year Founded
$107MTotal Funding
SERIES_ACompany Stage
Data & Analytics, Automotive & TransportationIndustries
51-200Employees

Risks

Competition from established firms like Bosch and Continental threatens market share.
Rapid technological advancements may outpace Sonatus' platform updates.
Expansion into new markets may bring regulatory compliance challenges.

Differentiation

Sonatus offers a no-code platform for adaptable vehicle software architectures.
The company partners with major automotive firms like Hyundai for real-time data diagnostics.
Sonatus' Updater solution manages over-the-air updates for software-defined vehicles.

Upsides

Sonatus raised $75 million to accelerate vehicle software innovation.
The company is expanding globally, including into the Japanese market.
Sonatus won two 2024 MotorTrend SDV Innovator Awards for software solutions.

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