About this role
About Us At Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. At Cloudflare, we’re not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we’re looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a "normalized" problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you’re the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you’ll fit right in. Available Location - Germany Role Summary As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) at Cloudflare, you will serve as a senior technical expert and advisor for our most strategic and complex customers. This role balances deep technical expertise with hands-on, onsite engagement, where you will architect solutions, optimize performance, and drive business success by helping customers maximize the value of Cloudflare’s platform. You will collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Support, Product, and Engineering to advocate for customer needs and influence our product roadmap. We are looking for a seasoned technologist who thrives on solving real-world challenges and acting as a trusted advisor within our customers' unique environments. Role Responsibilities • Serve as a trusted advisor to key enterprise customers, providing strategic recommendations and technical insights to drive success with Cloudflare’s solutions, specifically Workers and Workers AI platforms. • Lead architectural discussions, design sessions, and solution reviews to ensure the optimal application of Cloudflare’s offerings in customer environments. • Diagnose complex technical issues and deliver effective, strategic solutions in close collaboration with support and product teams. • Manage and navigate complex configurations, utilizing Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) to ensure operational stability for customers. • Partner with Sales, Customer Success, Support, Partners, Product Management, and Engineering to ensure customer insights directly influence the product roadmap and enhance the overall experience. • Advise customers on industry best practices for security, network optimization, scalability, and performance tuning tailored to their specific operational needs. • Stay current with industry trends and evolving Cloudflare solutions to provide forward-thinking guidance and configuration enhancements. Role Requirements (Must-Have Skills) • In Depth Experience in a technical customer-facing role such as Solutions Architect or Technical Account Manager, ideally within cloud networking, security, or web infrastructure. • Extensive knowledge of Cloudflare’s Application and Security portfolio (DNS, WAF, DDoS, Bot Management, CDN) and cloud infrastructure. • Hands-on experience protecting and securing web applications, APIs, and web services using WAF, DDoS, DNS, and Bot Management tools. • Proven ability to work with Cloudflare products within Enterprise-level accounts. • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex topics effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences. • Strong consultative skills with a track record of successfully solving complex technical problems in customer environments. • Ability to translate customer requirements into practical, scalable solutions that align with Cloudflare’s technology stack. Nice-to-Have Skills • Hands-on experience with coding, Cloudflare Workers, and Workers AI. • Prior experience in customer onsite placement. Compensation • For Germany based hires: Estimated annual salary is between €123,000 - €169,000. • This role is eligible to earn incentive compensation under Cloudflare's Sales Compensation Plan. The estimated annual salary range includes the on-target incentive compensation that may be attained in this role under the Sales Compensation Plan. Equity • This role is eligible to participate in Cloudflare's equity plan. What Makes Cloudflare Special? We’re not just a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company. We’re a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company with a soul. Fundamental to our mission to help build a better Internet is protecting the free and open Internet. Project Galileo: Since 2014, we've equipped more than 2,400 journalism and civil society organizations in 111 countries with powerful tools to defend themselves against attacks that would otherwise censor their work, technology already used by Cloudflare’s enterprise customers--at no cost. Athenian Project: In 2017, we created the Athenian Project to ensure that state and local governments have the highest level of protection and reliability for free, so that their constituents have access to election information and voter registration. Since the project, we've provided services to more than 425 local government election websites in 33 states. 1.1.1.1: We released 1.1.1.1 to help fix the foundation of the Internet by building a faster, more secure and privacy-centric public DNS resolver. This is available publicly for everyone to use - it is the first consumer-focused service Cloudflare has ever released. Here’s the deal - we don’t store client IP addresses never, ever. We will continue to abide by our privacy commitment and ensure that no user data is sold to advertisers or used to target consumers. Sound like something you’d like to be a part of? We’d love to hear from you! Please note that applicants who progress to the offer stage of the interview process may be asked to attend an in-person interview within one of the Cloudflare Offices or Cloudflare Hubs. More details about this will be available at that stage of the interview process. This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Please note that any offer of employment may be conditioned on your authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export laws without sponsorship for an export license. Cloudflare is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and place great value in both diversity and inclusiveness. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to their, or any other person's, perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law. We are an AA/Veterans/Disabled Employer. Cloudflare provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to, changing the application process, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. If you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job, please contact us via e-mail at hr@cloudflare.com or via mail at 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107.