Senior Principal Customer Engineer – Digital Natives & AI‑Driven Architecture Champion – Driving Enterprise Web Excellence at brighthush

About brighthush

brighthush is not just a technology company; it is a movement that is reshaping how the world experiences the Internet. With a global network that powers millions of websites, APIs, and digital services, we empower businesses—from solo entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 enterprises—to deliver blazing‑fast, secure, and resilient online experiences without the need for on‑premise hardware or complex code changes. Our mission is simple yet profound: build a better, safer, and more open Internet for everyone.

Recognized as one of the world’s most innovative tech companies and a top performer on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list, brighthush thrives on relentless curiosity, rapid iteration, and the belief that artificial intelligence is a partner, not a replacement, in solving the toughest technical challenges. If you thrive in an environment where curiosity outpaces bureaucracy and where every small improvement is shared across the team, you will feel right at home at brighthush.

Role Overview

As a Senior Principal Customer Engineer in our Digital Natives practice, you will be the linchpin of our technical go‑to‑market strategy. You will act as a trusted advisor, architect, and champion for our enterprise customers, guiding them from the first technical discovery through onboarding, deployment, and continuous expansion. Your work will directly influence revenue, customer satisfaction, and the long‑term success of our platform.

Reporting to the Customer Engineering Leader, you will operate as a quota‑carrying technologist, leveraging AI‑augmented workflows to eliminate administrative toil and focus on high‑value architectural design and measurable business outcomes across the entire customer journey.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Validation & Proof of Concept Leadership: Partner closely with Account Executives to conduct deep‑dive discovery sessions, capture business requirements, and map complex customer infrastructures—DNS, CDN, Zero Trust, Network Security, and edge computing—to fit‑for‑purpose brighthush architectures. Define scope, success criteria, and evaluation plans for PoCs, and deliver tailored technical presentations, architectural diagrams, and live demonstrations that showcase how brighthush solves performance, security, and reliability challenges.
• Customer Adoption & Value Realization: Oversee technical onboarding and implementation at a strategic level, serving as the primary executive and engineering contact. Design structured migration and onboarding blueprints—DNS migrations, Zero Trust rollouts, WAF tuning guidance—and act as the lead consultant for customer engineering teams, walking them through configuration best practices. Partner with Account Executives to own discovery, demos, onboarding, technical health, risk, and expansion strategy. Proactively monitor customer health scores and telemetry to ensure rapid time‑to‑value, resolve integration bottlenecks, and reduce deployment risk.
• Commercial Accountability & Expansion: Own a variable quota tied to new business acquisition and/or ongoing account growth. Drive deep platform adoption, retain revenue, and identify strategic cross‑sell and up‑sell opportunities based on product usage data. Lead technical Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to translate platform capabilities into ROI for C‑level executives.
• Trusted Advisory: Maintain a continuous, deep relationship with key stakeholders from initial onboarding through maturity, renewal, and expansion. Provide thought partnership on architecture, AI control layers, security posture, and deployment confidence. Identify potential deployment risks or integration bottlenecks early and provide remediation strategies to de‑risk customer outcomes.
• AI Orchestration & Workflow Automation: Leverage AI agents, large language models (LLMs), and internal platforms to automate routine tasks such as RFP/Security Questionnaire responses, sandbox provisioning, basic telemetry monitoring, and documentation, freeing up time for strategic customer advisory.
• Education & Enablement: Collaborate with the Enablement Team to design, build, and govern technical resources. Define, document, and educate both internal teams and customers on deliverables such as SOPs, architectural best practices, and technical guides to continuously raise the technical baseline across the organization.
• Travel & Collaboration: Travel up to 20–50% to attend customer meetings, conferences, industry events, and in‑person team collaboration.

Essential Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in a customer‑facing technical role (Solutions Engineering, Customer Engineering, Professional Services, Sales Engineering, Technical Account Management, or Forward‑Deployed Engineering).
• Architectural mindset: Ability to white‑board, design, and articulate complex enterprise network and security architectures clearly.
• Consultative & Advisory Skills: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate deeply technical concepts into business outcomes for both hands‑on engineers and C‑suite executives.
• Commercial Mindset: Proven track record of operating in a quota‑carrying or revenue‑aligned environment, with a strong understanding of SaaS metrics, business value translation, and enterprise sales cycles.
• Technical Breadth: Demonstrated depth in at least four of the following domains:
  • Internet fundamentals (OSI layers, BGP, GRE, TCP/UDP, DNS, HTTP(S), SSL/TLS)
  • Security (WAF, Bot Management, Firewalls, Rate Limiting, (M)TLS, Zero Trust, SASE)
  • Performance (speed, latency, caching, video streaming, HTTP/2, TLS 1.3)
  • AI Proficiency (prompt engineering, AI‑assisted scripting, LLM utilization, workflow automation)
  • Coding/Scripting (Python, JavaScript, Bash, Lua, Go, or similar)
  • Developer Platform Fluency (RESTful/GraphQL APIs, SDKs, webhooks, infrastructure‑as‑code, CI/CD, observability)
• Business fluency in German (written and spoken).

Preferred Qualifications & Bonus Points

• Technical Enablement: Track record of creating and delivering technical enablement—workshops, code samples, documentation, or developer onboarding—that accelerates customer adoption of complex platforms.
• Applied AI Knowledge: Experience with LLM orchestration, Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures, and model‑access controls.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Understanding of regulatory requirements such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and SOC 2.
• Hyperscaler / Digital Native Background: Experience in hyperscalers, digital natives, distributed systems environments, or startups, providing deep cloud fluency and advanced architecture depth.

Skills & Competencies

• Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving
• Stakeholder Management & Influence
• Data‑Driven Decision Making
• Agile & Iterative Delivery
• Team Leadership & Mentorship
• Continuous Learning & Curiosity

Career Growth & Learning Opportunities

At brighthush, we believe that the best engineers grow by solving real‑world problems for real customers. As a Senior Principal Customer Engineer, you will:

• Lead cross‑functional initiatives that shape the future of our platform.
• Mentor junior engineers and share your expertise across the organization.
• Participate in industry conferences, hackathons, and AI research groups.
• Access internal learning tracks, certifications, and advanced training in cloud architecture, AI, and security.
• Earn recognition through our internal “Innovation Champion” program and external industry awards.

Work Environment & Culture

brighthush fosters a culture of transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Our remote‑first model empowers you to work from anywhere while staying connected through:

• Weekly all‑hands meetings and town halls.
• Dedicated Slack channels for technical deep dives, AI experimentation, and community building.
• Annual global summits that bring together engineers, product, and sales to celebrate wins and align on strategy.
• Flexible work hours and generous paid time off to maintain work‑life balance.
• Inclusive hiring practices and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Compensation & Benefits

For Germany‑based hires, the estimated annual salary range is €148,000 – €204,000, inclusive of base salary and on‑target incentive compensation under brighthush’s Sales Compensation Plan. In addition, you will be eligible to participate in our equity program, giving you a stake in the company’s long‑term success.

Benefits include:

• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Retirement savings plan with company match.
• Generous paid parental leave and flexible family support.
• Unlimited vacation policy to encourage rest and rejuvenation.
• Wellness stipend, mental health resources, and on‑site fitness options.
• Annual learning stipend for courses, conferences, and certifications.

Travel & Logistics

While the role is primarily remote, you will be expected to travel 20–50% of the time to meet customers, attend industry events, and collaborate with on‑site teams. Travel arrangements will be coordinated by our global operations team, and you will receive a travel stipend and expense reimbursement.

How to Apply

If you are ready to shape the future of the Internet, drive transformative customer outcomes, and thrive in a culture that values curiosity and AI‑powered innovation, we want to hear from you. Submit your application through our careers portal, and include a brief statement (150‑200 words) explaining why you are the ideal fit for this role.

Closing

At brighthush, we are building more than a technology platform—we are building a community of innovators who are passionate about creating a safer, faster, and more open Internet. If you are a seasoned technical leader with a passion for customer success, AI, and enterprise architecture, we invite you to join our mission. Together, we can transform the way the world experiences the web.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected status. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please let us know.