Head of Forward Deployment & AI Platform Strategy

Archer; Manchester; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Archer is partnering with BNY to recruit a senior FDE leader who will guide complex delivery programs across business and platform domains. You will translate strategic opportunities into production-ready plans, set engineering priorities, and drive reusable patterns and governance across the function.

We seek 14+ years of software leadership, deep AI knowledge, and experience delivering in regulated environments. The role shapes enterprise delivery at scale in the UK.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related field; advanced degree is a plus.
• 14+ years of software development and technical leadership with production systems.
• Strong knowledge of AI, RAG, semantic search, and agent-based design.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of FDE engagements; set priorities and allocate engineering capacity.
• Be the senior technical voice in discovery with executive sponsors and business leaders.
• Own and evolve the FDE playbook; define standards, entry/exit criteria, handoff protocols.
• Drive reuse-first patterns; establish reference architectures and platform contributions.
• Set governance standards for secure-by-default practices, observability, and operability.
• Define the institutionalization model for forward deployment; ensure clear handoffs.
• Represent FDE to architecture, security, compliance, and senior tech leadership.
• Identify capability gaps and translate into actionable platform investment recommendations.
• Build and grow the FDE team; recruit and mentor senior engineers.
• Stay at the frontier of AI and regulated delivery; bring knowledge back to the function.

Skills

Java

TypeScript/JavaScript

Python

APIs

Containerization

Secure-by-default

Data/AI/Platform layers

Communication

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Engineering

Advanced degree beneficial

Job description

Archer is partnering with BNY to recruit a senior FDE leader who will guide complex delivery programs across business and platform domains. You will translate strategic opportunities into production-ready plans, set engineering priorities, and drive reusable patterns and governance across the function.

We seek 14+ years of software leadership, deep AI knowledge, and experience delivering in regulated environments. The role shapes enterprise delivery at scale in the UK.