Lead Forward-Deployed Engineer (Data Application)

EPAM Systems; Zürich; Hybrid; CHF 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5 weeks of vacation

EPAM Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ES1

Enhanced parental leave

Extended pension plan

Daily sickness allowance insurance

Employee assistance program

Global business travel medical and事故保险

Job summary

EPAM Systems is seeking a Lead Forward-Deployed Engineer (Data Applications) to join our Zurich-area team in a hybrid role. You will collaborate with business and product stakeholders to turn ideas into production-ready prototypes and shape AI-driven development practices.

Responsibilities include scoping features, building rapid prototypes, and ensuring prototypes transition smoothly to standard build processes with engineering teams.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in rapid prototyping and forward-deployed/solutions-engineering roles.
• Hands-on AI-native development including code generation and agents.
• Strong Python prototyping skills.

Responsibilities

• Scope new features with business/Product owners and build rapid prototypes.
• Use AI-native development, including code generation and automated testing.
• Deliver functional prototypes with short feedback loops for transfer to production teams.
• Evaluate feasibility of AI-native features and act as primary technical contact for client teams.
• Contribute AI-native patterns to internal teams.

Skills

Python

Rapid prototyping

Client-facing communication

AI-native development

English proficiency

Tools

AWS Data Services

LangChain

Bedrock

AgentCore

Job description

We're looking for a Lead Forward-Deployed Engineer (Data Applications) to join our team in Broader Zurich area, Switzerland in a hybrid working mode. This role offers an opportunity to shape AI-driven development practices by creating rapid, intelligent prototypes that accelerate delivery. You will collaborate directly with business and product stakeholders to turn ideas into functional application concepts that transition seamlessly into production-ready builds.

Responsibilities

• Work directly with client business and product owners to scope new application features and create rapid prototypes
• Use AI natively throughout development, including code generation, automated testing, and iterative build
• Build, refine, and deliver functional prototypes with a focus on short feedback loops
• Prepare validated prototypes for transfer into standard build processes with engineering teams
• Evaluate and confirm technical feasibility of new application features adopting AI-native approaches
• Act as a primary technical contact for client teams during early-stage development phases
• Contribute AI-native engineering practices and reusable patterns to internal teams

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience, including 3+ years in rapid prototyping, forward-deployed, or solutions-engineering roles
• Hands-on experience with AI-native application development, including code generation and agentic coding assistants
• Strong proficiency in rapid prototyping using Python
• Excellent client-facing technical communication skills
• Familiarity with Anthropic Claude or AWS AI Practitioner certification
• Experience with AWS Data Services
• English proficiency at B2 level or higher

Nice to have

• Solid understanding of application and API design for new features
• Knowledge of Amazon Bedrock or AgentCore
• Experience with LangChain or other agent-orchestration frameworks
• Working knowledge of Snowflake or ClickHouse
• Background in prompt engineering

We offer

• 5 weeks of vacation
• EPAM Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Enhanced parental leave
• Extended pension plan
• Daily sickness allowance insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Global business travel medical and accident insurance
• Learning and development opportunities including in-house training and coaching, professional certifications, and courses
• Please note that any offers will be subject to appropriate background checks
• We do not accept CVs from recruiting or staffing agencies
• For this position, we are able to consider applications from the following:
• Swiss nationals
• EU/EFTA nationals
• Third-country nationals based in Switzerland with an appropriate work permit
• Displaced people from Ukraine who are currently in Switzerland and hold, or have already applied for, S permits