AI Forward-Deployed Lead Engineer — Enterprise Systems

EY; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 126,000 - 262,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Medical and dental coverage

Pension and 401(k)

Paid time off

Job summary

EY is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own the end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems within a single client engagement in highly regulated industries. You will be the technical authority in an Advanced Forward Engineering cell, turning ambiguous business problems into secure, production-grade solutions under client constraints.

The role is hands-on and embedded with the client, leading a small cell and directing engineers while ensuring safe-to-ship releases and production

Qualifications

• 8+ years delivering complex enterprise systems, ideally in regulated or client-facing contexts.
• Hands-on engineering depth across integration-heavy architectures, cloud platforms, and distributed systems.
• Experience with modern AI-enabled application stacks and forward-deployed, customer-facing roles.
• Ability to lead a small technical team while remaining an individual contributor.
• Strong stakeholder-management skills and production-readiness mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end outcome delivery for the cell, including scoping, tradeoffs, technical direction, and production readiness.
• Embed directly with the client to translate needs into actionable technical solutions under constraints.
• Serve as the primary technical interface and trusted advisor to client stakeholders.
• Stay hands-on, designing and building critical parts of the solution when needed.
• Deploy, adapt, and stabilize solutions in the client environment with release readiness in focus.
• Direct the cell's Implementation Engineer and Data Engineer to a coherent, production-grade outcome.
• Ensure deployments meet safety, integrity, and cost constraints with regulators and governance in view.

Skills

Outcome ownership

Client presence

Hands-on engineering

Technical judgment

Communication clarity

Autonomy

Pragmatic mindset

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Cloud platforms

Distributed systems

Job description

EY is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own the end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems within a single client engagement in highly regulated industries. You will be the technical authority in an Advanced Forward Engineering cell, turning ambiguous business problems into secure, production-grade solutions under client constraints.

The role is hands-on and embedded with the client, leading a small cell and directing engineers while ensuring safe-to-ship releases and production