Senior Forward-Deployed AI Engineer | Client-Facing

EY; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

EY seeks an Associate Director in Forward Deployed Engineering to design, develop, and deploy AI-driven, data-centric solutions for strategic clients. You will blend deep technical skills with leadership to influence business outcomes across client teams and EY stakeholders.

You’ll lead AI/ML initiatives, mentor engineers, and help grow opportunities while shaping frameworks and best practices within a globally connected EY team. Hybrid work and diverse experiences are offered.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in software engineering, data engineering, or AI/ML solution delivery.
• Proven experience delivering scalable AI/ML solutions in client-facing or collaborative roles.
• Solid expertise in machine learning, generative AI, NLP, computer vision, data platforms, and big data technologies.
• Experience with cloud-native development, microservices, container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker).
• Proficiency with cloud platforms: Azure, AWS, GCP.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices including CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible), monitoring, and logging.
• Exposure to agentic architectures, multi-agent orchestration, or cognitive harness patterns.
• Consulting or technical delivery experience with enterprise clients.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to complex technical engagements and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with senior client stakeholders to support AI and data strategy initiatives.
• Assist in full lifecycle of solution development—from problem definition, architecture design, prototyping, deployment, to scaling and adoption.
• Align client technology roadmaps with business objectives and emerging AI trends.
• Develop and implement AI and LLM-powered applications using RAG, autonomous agents, and orchestration frameworks.
• Demonstrate proficiency in Python and agent frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, or AutoGen.
• Rapidly develop functional prototypes and production-ready demos within project timelines.
• Identify and pursue technical expansion opportunities to accelerate account growth.
• Contribute to proposals, technical demos, and client engagements by articulating AI/ML capabilities and business value.
• Communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers and data scientists within cross-functional pods.
• Foster a culture of innovation, agility, and continuous improvement.
• Refine EY’s Forward Deployed Engineering frameworks, best practices, and technical capabilities.

Skills

AI/ML engineering

Client engagement

Stakeholder management

Cloud-native development

Consulting delivery

Tools

Python

Kubernetes

Docker

LangChain

LlamaIndex

AutoGen

Job description

EY seeks an Associate Director in Forward Deployed Engineering to design, develop, and deploy AI-driven, data-centric solutions for strategic clients. You will blend deep technical skills with leadership to influence business outcomes across client teams and EY stakeholders.

You’ll lead AI/ML initiatives, mentor engineers, and help grow opportunities while shaping frameworks and best practices within a globally connected EY team. Hybrid work and diverse experiences are offered.