[Hiring] Internal Principal FDE @Phrase

Role Description

As an Internal Principal FDE at Phrase, you will own the entire picture of AI adoption and tooling across various functions. Your responsibilities will include:

• Push the boundary on what's possible with AI agents, automation, and internal tooling, translating it into concrete opportunities for a 240-person B2B software company.
• Prototype and build through to production yourself, not just advise on what's possible.
• Drive AI tooling adoption across Sales, Customer Success, Marketing, Finance, People, Legal, and Operations — engineering adoption is owned by engineering, everywhere else is yours.
• Learn how work actually flows in each function, find the highest-leverage points, and get tools into daily use, measuring success by changed behaviour and cycle time rather than apps shipped.
• Own complex cross-functional builds such as CPQ end-to-end: gathering functional requirements from the business, sequencing the work, and drawing on build capacity from champions across the company and the platform team where needed.
• Run disciplined build-versus-buy evaluations of external AI systems before committing significant engineering time and tokens, owning the framework, the vendor conversations, and the recommendation — including recommending "buy" when it's right.
• Chair a virtual AI and automation governance team covering tiering, approvals, data classification, and the Launchpad review process.
• Keep the safe path the fast path — govern without adding bureaucracy or unnecessary gates.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in roles combining technology and business operations — internal tools product management, business systems leadership, senior Forward-Deployed Engineer, RevOps/BizOps with a strong technical bent, or engineering leadership that moved toward the business.
• Hands-on credibility with engineers: you've shipped software, you read code, you can evaluate an architecture decision, and you've built things yourself with LLM APIs and agent frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience driving adoption of new tools or processes across non-technical functions, with evidence of measured outcomes.
• Experience owning or delivering at least one complex cross-functional system (CPQ, ERP, billing, revenue platform, or similar), whether built or bought.
• A track record of rigorous build-versus-buy or vendor evaluation decisions, including at least one where you argued against your own team's preference.
• Commercial fluency — you think in revenue, margin, cycle time, and second-order effects, and can hold your own with a CFO and a CRO.
• Direct, low-ego communication: you give hard feedback, take it well, and write clearly.
• Direct people leadership of engineers or technical staff (desirable, not required).

Requirements

• Adoption — weekly active use of internal AI tools across non-engineering functions, with documented cycle-time reductions.
• Cross-functional delivery — e.g. CPQ live and in use by Sales and Finance, whether built or bought.
• Build vs. buy — a working evaluation framework in place.
• Platform — Launchpad review gates owned and cleared on a defined SLA, with no app stalled in review.
• Integration — AI connected into the core systems people already use (CRM, ticketing, finance, collaboration), with measurable use inside those tools rather than in standalone apps.

Benefits

• Work experience in a successful and growing global SaaS company.
• Be part of an international team in Europe, APAC, and the Americas.
• Expert colleagues in their field who are determined to build the best localization platform on the market.
• An agile work environment, where it is encouraged to take smart risks.
• A culture full of trust, support, and loyalty, where respectful and open feedback is valued, and diversity is fully embraced.
• A positive, open-minded, and innovative atmosphere.
• Support in your professional development and personal career goals.

Company Description

Phrase is committed to ensuring equal pay for equal work and work of equal value between women and men. Our aim is that our workforce will be truly representative of all sections of society and that each worker feels respected and able to give their best. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their sex, race or ethnicity, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender identity or age.