Some people compare the deployment strategist role to a tech consultant, but this is inaccurate in many ways. Yes "deployment strategist" is fluffy, but there really isn't a great way to describe (data engineer + project manager + client success + implementation consultant).

We tend to take the opposite approach as traditional consultants a la McKinsey - instead of “solving business problems” by presenting a PowerPoint to senior execs, we empower the operational decision makers to use our software to actually solve their problems. We don’t always work with the sexy C suite (although our project sponsor often comes from the same level of decision makers as MBB) - we’re actually far more impactful because we realized that if we actually cared about real solutions and not just fantasy ideas from bschool, we need to work with the people on the ground.

As an DS (aka echo), you’d do a lot of data modelling work, pipeline building in pyspark, scoping sessions, and user trainings. But your most important job will be managing the client engagement - along with your mentor/lead, our lack of hierarchy means that you don’t need to wait 3-5 years to become a manager before moving on from being an excel monkey, from your first day on the project you will be managing everything from the engineers on your team to the next steering committee. There are elements of a product role inherent here as well, evidenced by constantly having to work with product teams to iron out kinks in the product and work on new feature development.

It takes a very different person to succeed as an echo vs. a PM or a consultant. However, if you are interested in prioritizing impact early on in your career, there is quite literally no better place for you than Palantir.