Forward-Deployed Engineer(s) UK Government

GoldFern; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

GoldFern seeks a senior Forward-Deployed Engineer to join a Government AI unit building and scaling AI products used by frontline public sector teams. This is a hands-on, end-to-end role where you own the full stack—from database and backend to frontend and AI/ML—and work directly with real users to ship tangible solutions.

You’ll thrive in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment, with ownership to shape how the team works and what gets built, alongside 2–3 other senior hires.

Qualifications

• Proven experience building and deploying AI-native software in production.
• Ownership of the full stack: frontend, backend, database and AI/ML.
• Experience building predictive models, LLM workflows or similar automation.
• Thrives in complex, ambiguous organisations.
• Genuinely current on AI developments.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills for non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Building and deploying AI-native software in a live production environment.
• Owning your work across the whole stack: frontend, backend, database and AI/ML.
• Building predictive models, LLM-powered workflows and scheduling tools.
• Working directly with operational users to understand real problems and ship real solutions.
• Staying genuinely current on what's happening in AI.

Skills

AI/ML development

Frontend development

Backend development

Database design

Predictive modeling

LLM workflows

Communication skills

Ambiguity navigation

Tools

Next.js

FastAPI

Postgres

Langfuse

Terraform

Azure

Job description

I am recruiting a team of senior Forward-Deployed Engineers for a Government AI unit (as well as additional Platform and Full Stack Engineers) that's building and scaling AI products used directly by frontline public sector teams.

This is a genuinely hands-on, end-to-end role. You'll own the full stack yourself, from database and backend through to frontend and AI/ML, and you'll work directly with real users to build things that actually get used. It's a fast-moving, sometimes ambiguous environment, and the kind of ownership you don't often get in bigger, more process-heavy organisations. This is one of 2-3 senior hires being made for the team, so there's real scope to help shape how it works.

What you'll be doing

• Building and deploying AI-native software in a live production environment
• Owning your work across the whole stack: frontend, backend, database and AI/ML
• Building predictive models, LLM-powered workflows and scheduling tools
• Working directly with operational users to understand real problems and ship real solutions
• Staying genuinely current on what's happening in AI

What we're looking for

• Proven experience building and deploying AI-native software in production
• Comfortable owning every part of the stack, not just your own specialism
• Experience building predictive models, LLM workflows or similar automation
• A track record of thriving in complex, ambiguous organisations
• Genuinely current on AI developments
• Outstanding communication skills and interpersonal skills to effectively engage with non-technical audiences

Nice to have

• Next.js, FastAPI and Postgres
• LLM observability tooling such as Langfuse
• Terraform and Azure
• An entrepreneurial or startup background

The practicalities

• Interim contract, inside IR35, with the potential to run long term
• UK government basic clearance will be required
• Rate: competitive, dependent on experience