Forward Deployed Engineer

Core42; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 650,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Yearly bonus

Exclusive discount cards

Premium family insurance

Learning & development

Job summary

Core42 is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer in Abu Dhabi to own full-stack development for AI-enabled customer deployments. You will tackle discovery, architecture, prototyping, frontend and backend development, data integration and production operations with a strong emphasis on security and reliability.

You will work directly with customers, engineers and product teams in a hands-on role, shaping scalable accelerators and reference architectures for sovereign AI platforms in the UAE and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a technical field.
• 8+ years in software or AI deployment with direct customer delivery.
• Proven ability to take open problems from discovery to production.
• Design and implement production APIs, backend services and data models.
• Experience with relational and non-relational data stores, auth and CI/CD.
• Hands-on AI/LLM experience with production-grade impact on product/workflows.
• Cloud-native delivery with containers, troubleshooting via metrics/logs.
• Ability to learn quickly, make decisions under uncertainty and iterate.
• Strong written and verbal communication for engineers and executives.
• High ownership with ability to drive multiple streams.

Responsibilities

• Customer-embedded engineering from discovery to optimization.
• Translate business problems to technical hypotheses and architecture.
• Own delivery from prototype to stable production, including release and observability.
• Frontend development with React and TypeScript for AI-assisted workflows.
• Backend services and APIs with Python/Node.js and secure design.
• Data integration with relational and non-relational stores and pipelines.
• Build and operate LLM/AI applications with guardrails and human-in-the-loop controls.
• Production engineering: CI/CD, testing, logging, monitoring and runbooks.
• Security, privacy and sovereignty throughout the lifecycle.
• Delivery judgments and customer enablement with documentation and training.

Skills

React

TypeScript

Python

Node.js

APIs

CI/CD

Security

Cloud-native

Data integration

DevOps

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Data Science

Master’s degree in Computer Science, AI, Engineering

Tools

Next.js

FastAPI

Django

Kubernetes

Docker

Azure

Job description

Forward Deployed Engineer, Core42, Abu Dhabi - UAE

About Us

Core42, a leader in AI-powered cloud and digital infrastructure, is driving transformative technology solutions globally. Leveraging advanced resources and partnerships, Core42 empowers clients to harness sovereign AI infrastructure, especially in sectors with stringent regulatory needs. With a mission to redefine digital transformation, we combine sovereign capabilities with scalable, high-performance compute infrastructure, positioning Core42 at the forefront of AI innovation in the Middle East and beyond.

The opportunity

As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will be a hands-on, customer-embedded full-stack engineer responsible for turning complex and often ambiguous customer problems into secure, reliable and production-grade AI solutions. You will work side by side with customer users and engineers, owning the technical lifecycle from discovery, architecture and rapid prototyping through frontend and backend development, data and AI integration, deployment, production operations, adoption and continuous improvement.

You will contribute directly in code and make practical engineering trade-offs across user experience, functionality, model quality, security, reliability, latency, cost and delivery pace. You will also convert successful field patterns into reusable software, accelerators, reference architectures and product feedback that improve Core42 platforms and future customer deployments.

This is an individual-contributor engineering role. It is not a Technical Program Manager, Engineering Manager, presales, advisory-only or staff-augmentation position. The FDE owns and builds the technical solution while collaborating with program, product, data, security and customer teams.

Your key responsibilities

• Customer-embedded engineering: Work directly with customer business, operational and engineering teams from discovery and onboarding through deployment, adoption and optimization. Build a deep understanding of workflows, users, data, systems, constraints and desired outcomes.
• Problem discovery and solution shaping: Translate open-ended business problems into measurable outcomes, technical hypotheses, architecture, delivery increments and a prioritized engineering backlog. Prototype quickly, validate with users and refine the solution through evidence.
• End-to-end ownership: Own technical delivery from the first working prototype to stable production, including integration, testing, release, observability, troubleshooting, stabilization, documentation and handover.
• Frontend engineering: Build responsive, accessible and maintainable user-facing applications using React, TypeScript and modern web-development patterns, or comparable frontend technologies. Create interfaces for AI-assisted workflows, conversational experiences, operational tools and human-in-the-loop decisions.
• Backend engineering: Design and build secure backend services, APIs and asynchronous workflows using Python and Node.js/TypeScript, or comparable production stacks. Implement business logic, orchestration, authentication, authorization, caching, queues and integrations.
• Data and integration engineering: Connect customer and third-party systems through well-designed APIs, connectors and event-driven patterns. Work with relational and non-relational data stores, data pipelines, enterprise identity and access controls, and structured and unstructured data.
• AI and agentic applications: Build and operate LLM and generative-AI applications using patterns such as retrieval-augmented generation, tool use, multi-step agentic workflows, prompt and context engineering, evaluation, guardrails and human-in-the-loop controls.
• Production engineering: Apply software-engineering discipline through code reviews, automated testing, version control, CI/CD, infrastructure and configuration automation, observability, logging, monitoring, alerting, runbooks and incident learning.
• Reliability and operations: Use telemetry, service logs and debugging tools to diagnose, resolve and prevent production issues. Improve scalability and reliability, reduce manual operations and automate repeatable workflows wherever practical.
• Security, privacy and sovereignty: Embed secure coding, threat modeling, secrets management, data protection, responsible AI, auditability and compliance requirements throughout the lifecycle. Support public cloud, private cloud, hybrid, on-premises and restricted deployment models.
• Delivery judgment: Scope and sequence work, manage technical dependencies, identify risks and remove blockers early. Make explicit trade-offs between scope, speed, quality, security, model behavior, latency and cost while protecting the customer outcome.
• Customer adoption and enablement: Explain technical decisions clearly to engineers, users and executives. Guide adoption through joint engineering, documentation, training, operational handover and capability transfer.
• Productization and feedback: Turn recurring customer needs and successful delivery patterns into reusable components, connectors, evaluation assets, playbooks and reference implementations. Provide field evidence to Core42 Product and Engineering teams to influence platform priorities.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Work in a small multidisciplinary crew with software engineers, data scientists, product managers, designers, domain experts, security specialists, Technical Program Managers and go-to-market teams, while remaining directly accountable for engineering execution.

What we’re looking for

(a) Required skills / qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Data Science or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of software engineering, AI engineering or technical deployment experience, including direct customer-facing delivery.
• Demonstrated evidence of personally taking an ambiguous problem from discovery and architecture through hands-on build, integration and stable production operation.
• Ability to design and implement production APIs, backend services, data models, integrations and asynchronous or event-driven workflows.
• Experience with relational and/or non-relational databases, data integration, authentication and authorization, automated testing, CI/CD and observability.
• Hands‑on experience building or deploying AI, machine-learning, LLM or generative‑AI applications, with an understanding of how model behavior affects product and workflow outcomes.
• Experience with cloud-native application delivery, containers and production environments, including troubleshooting through metrics, logs and traces.
• Ability to decompose unfamiliar problems, learn customer domains quickly, make sound decisions with incomplete information and iterate effectively as requirements evolve.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain technical concepts and trade-offs to engineers, operational users and non-technical stakeholders.
• High ownership and autonomy, demonstrated through working through technical and organizational blockers and remaining accountable for production adoption and measurable outcomes.
• Ability to prioritize and drive multiple technical workstreams under demanding timelines without compromising production quality, security or customer trust.
• Willingness to work regularly from customer locations and travel as required by the engagement.

(b) Preferred skills / qualifications

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering or a related technical field.
• Experience with Next.js or similar frontend frameworks; FastAPI, Django or comparable Python frameworks; and modern Node.js backend frameworks.
• Experience designing and operating enterprise RAG and agentic systems, including tool integration, orchestration, evaluation harnesses, model monitoring, guardrails and responsible‑AI controls.
• Experience with Azure, Azure AI, Azure OpenAI, Kubernetes, container platforms, infrastructure as code and private or hybrid cloud environments.
• Experience with distributed systems, load balancing, configuration management, performance optimization, monitoring and production automation.
• Experience delivering systems in government, healthcare, financial services, energy, defense or other regulated and mission‑critical environments.
• Experience with sovereign, private‑cloud, on‑premises, disconnected or air‑gapped deployment patterns.
• Knowledge of identity and access management, data governance, privacy, threat modeling, secure software development and production assurance.
• Experience transforming one‑off customer work into reusable product capabilities, engineering assets or reference architectures.
• Regional delivery experience in the UAE or wider Middle East. Arabic capability is advantageous but does not replace the required engineering depth.

What success looks like

• Customer workflows adopted in production and delivering agreed business or operational outcomes.
• Fast progression from problem discovery and prototype to a secure, reliable and maintainable production service.
• High-quality full-stack software that meets agreed standards for usability, security, model quality, reliability, latency, cost and observability.
• Customer teams able to operate, support and extend the solution with reduced dependency over time.
• Reusable components, connectors, playbooks and reference implementations that accelerate future deployments.
• Clear field feedback that improves Core42 products, platforms and engineering practices.
• The Forward Deployed Engineer is a hands‑on individual contributor who designs, codes, deploys and operates the solution.
• The role collaborates closely with a Technical Program Manager, but does not replace program governance, portfolio coordination or people management.
• The role may guide technical work and mentor others through delivery, but formal line management is not a requirement of this profile.
• The role is not measured by presentations, demonstrations or activity alone. Success is measured through production adoption, customer outcomes and reusable engineering value.

What working at Core42 offers

• Competitive Salary: We offer an attractive salary package based on your skills and experience.
• Yearly Bonus: In recognition of your contributions, you will receive a performance-based annual bonus.
• Exclusive Discount Cards: Access special benefits with Esaad and Fazaa cards, offering discounts across a wide range of services.
• Premium Family Insurance: We provide comprehensive health coverage, including dental, vision and life insurance, supporting you and your family.
• Learning & Development: Access top‑tier learning platforms and development opportunities to grow your technical and leadership capabilities.

With a diverse team of 1,100+ employees from 68 nationalities, we foster an inclusive, innovative and collaborative environment. At Core42, we foster a culture grounded in trust, accountability and high performance. We are united by our values: Grit, where we overcome challenges with resilience and determination; Passion, which drives us to pursue excellence in everything we do; and Impact, as we aim to inspire progress and create meaningful change. Our team members thrive in an environment where each person’s contributions propel us forward, and together, we commit to achieving extraordinary results.