Director Forward Deployed Software Engineering EMEA

Indicium AI; Greater London; On-site; GBP 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Indicium AI is seeking a senior technical leader to head its Forward Deployed Software Engineering practice. You will guide a team embedded with client engineering organizations to transform how they build software in the age of AI, owning engagements and the transformation playbooks.

You will work with client leaders, Anthropic partner teams, and Indicium AI leadership to set direction and scale the practice, mentoring engineers and shaping client relationships at the highest level.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with at least 4 years in senior engineering leadership (CTO, VP Eng, Head of Eng, or equivalent).
• Proven track record building and shaping engineering teams.
• Deep passion for how AI is transforming software engineering; using AI native development tools.
• Executive presence and ability to translate technical strategy for diverse audiences.
• Experience driving engineering transformation and scaling engagements in enterprise contexts.
• Experience in or with partner ecosystems and client-facing engineering roles.

Responsibilities

• Lead, hire, and develop a high-performing team of Forward Deployed Software Engineers embedded with client teams.
• Define and evolve the AI-native engineering transformation approach, tooling, and operating models at scale.
• Own engagements quality, build scalable playbooks, and shape client relationships and partner collaborations.
• Manage hands-on technical delivery with enterprise clients, including CTO-level discussions and codebase work.
• Create repeatable patterns, reference implementations, and best practices for transformation engagements.
• Develop vertical fluency across Financial Services, Energy, and Healthcare for engineering constraints and compliance.
• Partner with Sales to shape pipeline and expansion opportunities within existing accounts.
• Collaborate with Anthropic field teams and Indicium AI leadership to guide transformation direction.
• Provide mentorship, conduct regular 1:1s, and support career growth of team members.
• Be the external voice of Indicium AI’s software engineering transformation practice through client relations and thought leadership.

Skills

Leadership

Engineering leadership

AI in software

Team building

Executive presence

Ambiguity tolerance

Enterprise credibility

Job description

About Indicium AI

Indicium AI was Anthropic’s first European launch partner - and sits among a handful of organisations globally trusted by Anthropic to deploy Claude at enterprise scale. We are also one of the first four OpenAI partners in the UK, and Databricks Ventures has invested in our business and holds a seat on our board. Our engineers have access to the latest AI tools and models, partner technical teams, and early capability previews that the wider market does not.

We are deploying production AI systems into the world’s most complex organisations across Financial Services, Energy, and Healthcare. We exist to make AI a genuine competitive advantage for our clients, not in a presentation but in production.

The Role

Software engineering is being fundamentally reshaped by AI. The organisations that move fastest to adopt AI native development practices - Claude Code across their engineering teams, agents embedded in their SDLC, new operating models for how engineers and AI tools work together - will have a decisive advantage. Most enterprises know this. Very few have the leadership to make it happen.

This is a senior technical leadership role at the head of our Forward Deployed Software Engineering practice. Reporting to the CTO, you will lead a team of Forward Deployed Software Engineers who embed with client engineering organisations to transform how they build software in the age of AI.

You will own the practice end to end - the quality of engagements, the playbooks that let it scale, the team you build, and the relationships you hold with clients and partners. This is a role for a true lifetime software engineer: someone who has built and shaped engineering teams, who has likely held CTO or VP Engineering roles, and who is now deeply passionate about how AI is transforming the discipline they have spent their career mastering.

You will work directly with client engineering leaders at the most senior level, with Anthropic partner teams, and with Indicium AI leadership to define the direction of our software engineering transformation practice.

What You Will Do

• Lead, hire, and develop a high-performing team of Forward Deployed Software Engineers - setting a high bar for engineering excellence, client instincts, and delivery quality
• Define and evolve the Indicium AI approach to AI native engineering transformation - covering Claude Code adoption, agentic SDLC tooling, engineering operating models, team structures, and best practice at scale
• Own the technical and operational bar for software engineering engagements - reviewing SOWs, shaping engagement architecture, and ensuring your team delivers lasting capability change in client organisations
• Manage hands‑on technical delivery in enterprise - you are comfortable moving fluidly between boardroom conversations with a CTO about engineering strategy and pairing with your team on a client codebase
• Build the playbooks, reference implementations, and repeatable patterns that turn one‑off transformation engagements into a scalable practice
• Develop vertical fluency across the team in Financial Services, Energy, and Healthcare - understanding the specific engineering constraints and compliance requirements of each sector
• Partner with Sales to shape pipeline, scope engagements, and identify expansion opportunities within existing accounts
• Work alongside Anthropic field teams on joint engagements - representing Indicium AI at the highest level
• Provide technical mentorship, conduct regular 1:1s, and invest in the career growth of each team member
• Be the external voice of Indicium AI’s software engineering transformation practice - through client relationships, partner engagement, and thought leadership

What We Are Looking For

• 10+ years in software engineering with at least 4 years in senior engineering leadership - CTO, VP Engineering, Head of Engineering, or equivalent roles where you built and shaped teams
• A true lifetime software engineer - you have written production code across your career, led architecture decisions on complex systems, and built engineering cultures that ship
• Deep passion for how AI is transforming software engineering - you are already using AI native development tools and have a clear, informed view on where the discipline is heading
• A track record of building engineering teams from early stage - hiring, developing, and retaining exceptional engineers, not just managing an inherited organisation
• Experience driving engineering transformation - whether adopting new practices, retooling an SDLC, or scaling an engineering organisation through a step change in capability
• Enterprise credibility - you have worked with or within large engineering organisations and understand the realities of legacy systems, compliance, procurement, and multi‑team coordination
• Executive presence - you can hold your own with a CTO or VP Engineering and translate technical strategy into clear narratives for diverse audiences
• High agency and comfort with ambiguity - you have built something from zero before and know what it takes

Nice to Have

• Former CTO or VP Engineering at a scaling technology company
• Experience in a client‑facing engineering role - forward deployed engineering, technical consulting, or engineering advisory
• Experience with Claude Code enterprise deployment, AI agent integration into development workflows, or MCP server development
• External presence - writing, speaking, or community contribution in the software engineering or engineering leadership space
• Experience working alongside or within partner ecosystems such as Anthropic, Databricks, or AWS at a senior level
• Experience in a Palantir, Anthropic, DeepMind, or similar forward‑deployed engineering model