Sonatus · 7 hours ago
Senior Director, Field Application Engineering
Sunnyvale, CA
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
$203K/yr - $315K/yr
15+ years expSonatus is a company focused on transforming the automotive industry with AI-enabled software-defined vehicles. They are seeking a Senior Director of Field Application Engineering to lead a global team that supports automotive customers, bridging engineering needs with product and technology teams to ensure successful integration of advanced software solutions.
AutomotiveCloud Data ServicesInformation TechnologySoftware
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
Qualification
Required
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
Proven success leading global technical teams in complex customer environments
Strong experience working with OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, and semiconductor partners
Excellent communication and executive presence, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into strategic discussions
Preferred
Experience with AI, machine learning, or computer vision technologies applied to automotive use cases (ADAS, autonomous driving, predictive maintenance, etc.)
Familiarity with cloud-connected vehicle architectures and edge AI deployment
MBA or equivalent business experience a plus
Benefits
Competitive compensation and equity program
Health care plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
Flexible and Dependent Care Expense program
Retirement plan (401k)
Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
Unlimited paid time off per year, 15 paid holidays
Hybrid office work arrangement/flexibility
Complimentary lunches, snacks, and beverages during on-site working days
Wellness benefit allowances (towards gym membership and fitness programs)
Internet reimbursement
Computer Accessory Allowance
Departmental team building and outings
Employee Referral Program
Culture/Employee Satisfaction Surveys - Feedback matters!
Company
Sonatus
Sonatus provides in-vehicle and cloud software that enables automotive companies to achieve the full promise of software-defined vehicles.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Sonatus has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (10)
2024 (7)
2023 (6)
2022 (7)
2021 (5)
2020 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$110MKey Investors
Foxconn Technology GroupTranslink Capital
2022-12-07Corporate Round· $75M
2021-07-21Series A· $35M
Leadership Team
Jeffrey Chou
CEO and Founder
Yu Fang
CTO,CPO,Founder
Recent News
2025-12-16
2025-12-09
Company data provided by crunchbase