AI Forward-Engineering Lead — Client-Embedded, Production

EY; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 126,000 - 262,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Medical and dental coverage

Pension and 401(k) plans

Paid time off

Job summary

EY is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems for a client engagement. You will be embedded with the client, defining real problems and delivering secure, production-grade solutions while balancing regulatory constraints.

You will lead a small, senior team, drive technical direction, and maintain hands-on coding to ensure trusted client outcomes across complex enterprise environments.

Qualifications

• 8+ years delivering complex enterprise systems 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 (e.g., agentic systems, orchestration frameworks, LLM-backed services).
• Proven ability to operate in forward-deployed, customer-facing roles, owning outcomes end to end.
• Demonstrated ability to lead a small technical team while remaining an individual contributor.
• Strong stakeholder-management skills and ability to manage client expectations under pressure.

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 business needs into executable technical solutions.
• Serve as the primary technical interface and trusted advisor to client stakeholders.
• Stay hands-on, designing and building critical parts of the solution.
• Deploy, adapt, and stabilize solutions in the client environment with templates and profiles.
• Direct the cell’s Implementation Engineer and Data Engineer to deliver coherent production-grade outcomes.
• Ensure all deployments meet safety, integrity, and cost constraints with control authorities.

Skills

Outcome ownership

Client presence

Hands-on coding

AI-enabled stacks

Solutions architecture

Stakeholder management

Education

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

Job description

EY is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems for a client engagement. You will be embedded with the client, defining real problems and delivering secure, production-grade solutions while balancing regulatory constraints.

You will lead a small, senior team, drive technical direction, and maintain hands-on coding to ensure trusted client outcomes across complex enterprise environments.