Sr Partner Agent Architect (Germany)

For over 20 years, Smartsheet has empowered teams to manage work seamlessly and scale solutions smarter. Now, in our most ambitious chapter yet, we are uniting human teams with AI agents. By orchestrating the work agents do best, automating manual tasks and uncovering insights at scale, we create the space for people to focus on what truly matters: judgment, creativity, and big thinking. That is magic at work, and it’s what we show up for every day. Smartsheet is looking for a Sr. Principal Data Scientist to set the technical direction for the ML models and AI sub-agents that drive growth, monetization, efficiency, and retention across the customer lifecycle. You’ll architect the systems, define the modeling and evaluation standards, and shape the roadmap for how Smartsheet uses applied ML and agentic AI to serve millions of customers. The data is unusually rich: petabyte-scale execution data spanning two decades of how real work gets done. You are a recognized technical leader who moves fluidly between architecture, prototype, and production; raises the bar for the data scientists around you; and partners with senior product and engineering leaders to make decisions that compound across the org. You will work primarily with Product and Engineering and will be a part of Smartsheet’s Business Intelligence team. This full-time position reports to the Director of Data Science and is based in Smartsheet’s Bengaluru, India office. You Will: * Set the technical direction for how Smartsheet uses applied ML and agentic AI across the customer lifecycle — what gets built, what doesn’t, and what good looks like * Architect the systems behind the sub-agents: how they ground themselves in evidence, how risk and confidence are calibrated, how decisions are evaluated, and how all of it stays safe and trustworthy at scale * Define the modeling, evaluation, and experimentation standards the team follows — from offline metrics to online rollout to production monitoring * Personally ship the highest-leverage models and sub-agents — the ones that need a senior IC to frame the problem, push through ambiguity, and de-risk the approach * Drive technical decisions on the data foundations and knowledge layer sub-agents reason over, with strong stewardship of privacy, aggregation, and customer trust * Partner with senior Product, Engineering, and Applied AI leaders to shape strategy, roadmap, and investment * Raise the bar for the data science team — mentor staff and principal data scientists, review designs, set hiring standards, and grow the org’s modeling rigor   You Have: * Bachelor’s degree and 12+ years of experience (or 14+ years of experience); advanced degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, CS, ML, Economics, Operations Research, or similar) strongly preferred * Track record of setting technical direction for applied ML and AI work that ships and matters — major initiatives, complex systems, or new modeling paradigms taken from idea to production impact * Deep applied ML expertise across both traditional ML and deep learning: gradient boosting, regularized linear models, transformer-based sequence models, foundation model embeddings, causal ML, contextual bandits, and offline RL * Architect-level grasp of agentic AI systems: tool use, retrieval, multi-step reasoning, evaluation, guardrails, and the patterns for keeping all of it reliable in production * Strong grasp of causal inference for intervention design and lifecycle modeling: uplift modeling, difference-in-differences, propensity scoring, and synthetic control * Solid foundation in statistics and experimental design at scale: hypothesis testing, power analysis, multiple comparisons, sequential testing, and quasi-experimental methods * Experience operating ML in production at scale — feature engineering and pipelines, model monitoring, drift detection, retraining cadence, and the trade-offs between batch and real-time serving * Proficient in SQL and Python; comfort with ML/LLM tooling at scale (Spark, Databricks, Snowflake, or equivalents), ML frameworks (PyTorch, scikit-learn, XGBoost/LightGBM), and visualization tools (Tableau or similar) * Experience leading lifecycle modeling work — churn, expansion, adoption, plan health, lead/account scoring — and business fluency in the SaaS metrics that drive it (NRR, GRR, ARR, and cohort economics) * A pragmatic production bar: latency, cost, monitoring, drift, hallucination, and what happens when the model or sub-agent is wrong * Demonstrated ability to influence senior product and engineering leaders and to mentor staff and principal data scientists — your track record shows people and decisions, not just models, getting better * Comfort operating in deep ambiguity — defining the problem, choosing the approach, and aligning the team when no playbook exists     Get to Know Us: At Smartsheet, your ideas are heard, your potential is supported, and your contributions have real impact. You’ll have the freedom to explore, push boundaries, and grow beyond your role. We welcome diverse perspectives and nontraditional paths—because we know that impact comes from individuals who care deeply and challenge thoughtfully. When you’re doing work that stretches you, excites you, and connects you to something bigger, that’s magic at work. Let’s build what’s next, together. Equal Opportunity Employer: Smartsheet is an Equal Opportunity (EEO) employer committed to fostering an inclusive environment with the best employees. It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants in accordance with applicable laws in the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Costa Rica, Japan, Bulgaria, India, and Singapore. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.  If there are preparations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please let us know.   #LI-Remote

ABOUT PARLOA Parloa’s mission is to make every customer conversation feel effortless for both customers and the companies serving them. As agentic AI accelerates, Parloans are shaping the foundation of a new era in customer experience - one where customer support is no longer transactions, but meaningful exchanges. It is not just a vision; Parloa has powered over ONE BILLION interactions between global enterprise brands and their customers, with companies like Booking.com, HealthEquity, Allianz, SAP, BarmeniaGothaer, and TUI already deploying Parloa at scale. ABOUT THE ROLE As a Sr Agent Architect at Parloa, you will act as a solution architect for enterprise AI Agent deployments. You will design end-to-end system architectures that connect Parloa's platform to complex enterprise environments, solve multi-system integration challenges, and apply systems thinking to build reliable, scalable AI solutions for global enterprise clients. You will also shape the conversational experience layer, using prompt engineering and your knowledge of LLMs to translate customer requirements into agent behavior. Architecture and integration depth are the core of this role. Conversational design skills are valued and can be developed on the job. AREAS OF OWNERSHIP * Design end-to-end solution architectures for AI Agent deployments, mapping how Parloa's platform integrates into customers' enterprise systems (CRMs, ERPs, ticketing systems, contact center platforms). * Build and configure integrations using integration platforms and APIs, applying systems thinking to solve complex, multi-system data flows. * Collaborate with Forward Deployed Engineers on complex or custom integration scenarios that go beyond standard integration capabilities. * Apply structured testing approaches to validate architecture, integration reliability, and AI agent performance under real-world conditions. * Identify and resolve blockers together with other departments at Parloa (e.g., Product, Solution Engineering, Sales) and the customer. * Scope AI Agent deployments, providing strategic architecture advice and execution support to customers and partners. * Use your knowledge of LLM internals (e.g., embeddings) to analyze customer requirements and design prompts for reliable, user-aligned agent behavior. * Translate complex customer workflows into structured conversational components that LLMs can execute reliably. * Fine-tune conversational flows and voice output (e.g., SSML, Lexicons, Regex) to align with customer brand standards. * Document best practices, how-to guides, and product capabilities for internal and external audiences, representing the expertise of the Agent Architect team. WHO YOU ARE * 3+ years of experience in enterprise customer-facing roles, with proven expertise in solution architecture, systems architecture, or enterprise integration. * Strong systems thinking, with a track record of solving complex technical problems across multiple systems and data sources. * Experience with complex SaaS implementations at scale (CRMs, ERPs, contact center platforms, ticketing systems). * Proficiency in REST API design, JSON/XML data structures, API testing tools (e.g., Postman), and API authentication patterns (OAuth, API keys, JWT). * Experience reading and consuming API documentation across enterprise SaaS platforms, including data transformation and field mapping logic. * Analytical and critical thinker with expertise in risk assessment and problem-solving. * Strong project and stakeholder management skills, with a passion for meeting milestones and effective communication. * Entrepreneurial mindset with initiative, results orientation, and ability to identify opportunities for impact. * Ability to analyze customer requirements and translate them into LLM prompts and conversational flows, with attention to subtle conversational nuance and A/B testing to assess agent performance.  * Prior conversation design, prompt engineering (e.g., chain-of-thought, few-shot learning), or A/B testing experience is a plus, not a requirement - we will train this. * Fluency in German and English is required  OUR RECRUITING PROCESS: Talent Acquisition → Hiring Manager → Technical Interview(s) → Bar Raiser WHY PARLOA? We're at the beginning of a new era in customer experience, one where AI doesn't just respond, but understands, reasons, and takes action. We're building agentic AI that enterprises trust with their most important customer moments: complex questions, high volumes, real stakes. When millions of people reach out to a brand, those interactions aren't just support tickets; they're defining experiences. We're here to raise the standard: making every conversation seamless, intelligent, and genuinely helpful. If you care about shaping how businesses and customers connect at scale and want your work to matter in real, everyday moments, this is where you do it. At Parloa, ownership isn't a buzzword; it means being accountable for outcomes, not just tasks. We operate in a category that's evolving fast, where the bar is high, and the problems are complex. We hire people who think in solutions, communicate with clarity, and follow through. People who are comfortable making decisions, taking responsibility, and raising the standard for themselves and those around them. We've grown beyond the earliest startup phase, but we've kept the intensity: fast execution, direct feedback, and a strong expectation to contribute meaningfully from day one. Backed by leading global investors like General Catalyst, EQT Ventures, and Altimeter Capital, we're scaling with a clear ambition: to become the global category leader in enterprise-grade conversational AI.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parloa is committed to upholding the highest data protection standards for our clients' and employees' data. All our employees are instrumental in ensuring the utmost care, GDPR, and ISO compliance, including ISO 27001, in handling sensitive information. Parloa is an e-verify employer in the USA. Please click here to learn more [https://www.e-verify.gov/about-e-verify/what-is-e-verify]. * We provide equal opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, disability status, socioeconomic background and other characteristics.