AI Forward Engineering Lead — End-to-End, Client-Facing

EY; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 126,000 - 230,000; 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 seeks a hands-on Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems for a single client engagement in highly regulated industries. You will lead a small cell, set technical direction, and embed with the client as a trusted advisor while maintaining hands-on coding when required.

You will manage production readiness, interfaces with client stakeholders, and ensure safe-to-ship decisions under regulatory and environmental constraints.

Qualifications

• 8+ years delivering complex enterprise systems.
• 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, including managing client expectations under pressure.
• Solid understanding of software delivery lifecycle, quality gates, and production readiness in enterprise settings.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end outcome delivery for the cell, including scoping, tradeoffs, technical direction, and production readiness.
• Embed directly with the client to define the real problem and translate business needs into a technical solution.
• Serve as the primary technical interface and trusted advisor to client stakeholders.
• Stay hands-on, designing and building critical parts of the solution as needed.
• Deploy, adapt, and stabilize solutions in the client environment with release readiness and runtime accountability.
• Direct the work of the cell’s Implementation Engineer and Data Engineer for coherent production outcomes.
• Ensure deployments meet safety, integrity, and cost constraints with control authorities.

Skills

Hands-on

Client presence

Technical judgment

Stakeholder management

Autonomy

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS or related field

Tools

Cloud platforms

Job description

EY seeks a hands-on Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems for a single client engagement in highly regulated industries. You will lead a small cell, set technical direction, and embed with the client as a trusted advisor while maintaining hands-on coding when required.

You will manage production readiness, interfaces with client stakeholders, and ensure safe-to-ship decisions under regulatory and environmental constraints.