Engagement Lead

About Climb

Climb is a Data and AI consultancy that partners with enterprises to design, build, and operationalize modern data platforms and production AI systems. As a Databricks partner, we go deep on lakehouse architecture, machine learning, and applied AI, with a bias toward production over proof of concept. Our team brings deep technical expertise and a builder's mindset to every engagement, and we measure our work not just by what ships, but by the business impact it drives.

Role Summary

The Engagement Lead owns the health of a Climb engagement, commercially and operationally. From kickoff through readout you are accountable for scope, margin, client confidence, and the outcome we committed to. This is not a status-report PM role: you run the engagement like a business you own.

You lead senior pods with no layers between you and the work. You orchestrate delivery cadence, control scope with commercial discipline, manage executive stakeholders, and surface the expansion opportunities that turn projects into platforms. Climb’s agentic delivery OS handles the mechanical work of project management so you can do the judgment work.

This is the role our future delivery leaders grow from. Engagement Leads who consistently run healthy engagements and expand accounts advance into practice and delivery leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Own engagement P&L: budget, burn, margin, and invoicing accuracy from kickoff to close.

• Run the delivery cadence (planning, risk management, steering committees, and internal health reviews) across one to three concurrent engagements.

• Own the day-to-day client relationship; keep executive sponsors confident, informed, and bought in.

• Control scope with commercial discipline: manage change orders, protect the margin, and say no gracefully.

• Surface expansion signals early, shape follow-on scope with the AI Strategist and account team, and carry a point of view on where the account goes next.

• Orchestrate senior pods: sequence the work, remove blockers, and hold the team to the outcome without micromanaging craftspeople.

• Run engagements on Climb’s agentic delivery OS (AI-assisted planning, reporting, and delivery telemetry) and feed improvements back into the platform.

• Contribute lessons from every engagement into Climb’s methodology and playbooks.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years in professional services, including 3+ years leading consulting engagements with commercial accountability: budget, margin, or change-order ownership.

• Track record managing engagement budgets of $500K+ with healthy margins and referenceable clients.

• Working fluency in data and AI delivery: you can follow an architecture discussion, pressure-test an estimate, and translate technical risk into business terms.

• Experience managing executive stakeholders through ambiguity, escalation, and change.

• Demonstrated scope control: change orders written, margins protected, and expectations reset without breaking trust.

• Daily use of AI tooling in your own workflow; you expect leverage from your tools and know how to get it.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience delivering Databricks or modern data stack programs.

• Boutique or high-growth consultancy background: you have run lean engagements without a pyramid beneath you.

• Exposure to PE-backed clients and their operating cadence.

• Pre-sales or scoping experience: you have helped shape the deals you later delivered.

Note on certification: Databricks experience is valued but not required at hire. Both Databricks and Anthropic certification are expected to be obtained post-hire.

Who Thrives Here

• You treat every engagement like a business you own, not a project you administer.

• You would rather prevent a fire than fight one, and your engagements are calm because of it.

• You earn client trust by telling them the truth early.

• You want leverage, not headcount: AI tooling makes you faster, not nervous.

Why Climb

• Ground floor, real backing. You are joining early, with founders who have built and exited firms like this before. You help write the playbook rather than inherit one.

• Outcomes, not hours. We sell and deliver against business results. Advancement is tied to delivery performance and account impact, not utilization targets.

• Senior team, no body-shop drag. Small pods of A-players, heavy internal AI leverage, and no bloated middle layers between you and the work.

• IP that compounds. Every engagement feeds reusable accelerators, patterns, and points of view back into the practice.

• Proximity to where decisions get made. Your clients are PE portcos and enterprise leadership teams making AI transformation calls right now.

What We Offer

• Competitive base salary with performance-based bonuses

• MacBook Pro and swag kit so you can do your best work

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) with company match

• Generous holidays, flexible PTO, and remote-first work environment

• Professional development budget including Databricks and cloud certifications

• Spot bonuses for relevant certifications

• Conference attendance and thought leadership opportunities

• Collaborative, low-ego culture with direct access to leadership

• Opportunity to shape a growing practice from the ground floor

Climb is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.