Forward Deployed Engineer

Story Terrace Inc.; Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Engage in Manchester is seeking a Founding Forward-Deployed Engineer to own bespoke AI customer delivery from discovery to live solution, building AI apps and integrations that fit the customer's data, identity and security requirements.

You will also shape the forward‑deployed engineering function, mentor engineers, set delivery standards and help grow a small team while remaining hands-on. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role with leadership potential.

Qualifications

• Production software delivery experience from discovery to live use.
• Experience delivering an AI application or agent workflow.
• Strong coding with Python for AI and API integrations.
• Knowledge of authentication and enterprise integration.

Responsibilities

• Work directly with customers to define delivery scope and measures.
• Build AI apps and integrations aligned to security and data constraints.
• Explain technical choices to customers in plain language.
• Coach engineers and shape delivery practices.
• Manage handover and transition to reliable live use.

Skills

Python for AI

APIs & cloud integration

Enterprise authentication

AI system validation

Team leadership

Tools

AWS

SQL

TypeScript

C#

Go

Job description

Founding Forward Deployed Engineer

About the role

Engage builds software that helps people across an organisation find information, communicate and get things done. Our customers include businesses with large, distributed and frontline teams. We are now expanding what that software can do through AI, building on a live platform and real customer problems.

As our Founding Forward-Deployed Engineer, you will own that work from the first customer conversation through to a reliable live solution. You will build AI applications, integrations and workflows, often where the answer does not exist in the product yet. You will then help decide which parts should become reusable Engage capability.

You will also develop the forward‑deployed engineering function: supporting existing engineers, setting delivery standards and helping shape future hiring. This is a hands‑on building role with growing leadership responsibility.

You own bespoke technical delivery and complex customer integrations. Routine product configuration and ongoing service requests sit alongside this work with the relevant delivery and support colleagues. Agree ownership and handover early, and involve product engineering when a customer need should become part of the core platform.

What you'll be doing

• Work directly with customers to understand their processes, users, systems and constraints.
• Turn an open-ended request into a clear delivery scope, success measures and an achievable first release.
• Explain technical choices and limitations in plain language, keeping customers involved as the work develops.
• Build AI applications, agents and integrations that work within the customer's data, identity and security requirements.
• Use AI development tools to accelerate delivery, while taking responsibility for the code, tests and behaviour they produce.
• Own implementation, deployment and the transition into reliable use, including documentation and handover.
• Evaluate model behaviour and monitor the quality, latency and cost of the complete workflow.
• Coach engineers through delivery, review their work and develop consistent engineering and customer delivery practices.
• Recognise patterns across projects and work with product engineering to turn useful components into reusable capability.
• Manage delivery trade-offs and expectations, including when to challenge a request, reduce scope or escape a risk.
• Help shape the team as demand grows, while continuing to build and deliver yourself.

What we're looking for

• Experience personally delivering production software for customers, from discovery through implementation and live use.
• Evidence of an AI application or agent workflow you built, including the tools used, the result and what failed or needed improvement.
• Strong coding ability, including Python for AI work and experience integrating APIs, data stores and cloud services.
• Confidence with authentication, permissions and enterprise integration, including handling sensitive customer information appropriately.
• Practical experience testing and operating AI systems, with attention to incorrect outputs, tool failures, latency, cost and recovery.
• The ability to scope work sensibly, communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders and keep commitments realistic.
• Experience coaching engineers or leading technical delivery, with an appetite to develop a small team while remaining hands‑on.

Useful experience

• Experience in forward‑deployed engineering, technical consulting or a customer‑facing product engineering role.
• Experience with SaaS, AWS, SQL or a second production language such as TypeScript, C# or Go.
• Experience turning customer‑specific delivery into reusable products or services, or contributing to technical hiring.

Why Engage

You will help define a growing part of Engage, working close to customers and the leadership team. You will have influence over how projects are delivered, how the team develops and which customer problems become part of the product.

What success looks like

• First three months: Understand customer priorities and the existing team, establish a clear delivery approach and take a well‑scoped project towards live use with agreed measures of success.
• By six months: Demonstrate a successful customer outcome, strengthen delivery practices and coach colleagues to take greater ownership. Identify components that deserve reuse.
• Over the first year: Build a dependable delivery function that can handle growing demand, with clear ownership, stronger engineers and a useful flow of learning back into the product.