AI Forward Engineering Lead - Hands-On, Client-Facing

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

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Medical & dental coverage

Pension & 401(k)

Generous 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 single client engagement in highly regulated industries. This hands-on role embeds with the client, driving technical direction, tradeoffs, and production readiness while managing a small cell of specialists.

You will design and implement core solution components, ensuring secure, production-grade outcomes within regulatory constraints and a bias toward delivering real client value.

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, or solutions‑architecture 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, taking accountability for the business outcome, not just the code.
• Embed directly with the client to define the real problem and translate ambiguous business needs into an executable technical solution under regulatory and environmental constraints.
• Serve as the primary technical interface and trusted advisor to client stakeholders, managing expectations, communicating tradeoffs, and sustaining the trust that drives adoption.
• Stay hands‑on, personally designing and building critical parts of the solution, and diving deep into the client’s systems, data, and codebase when the engagement requires it.
• Deploy, adapt, and stabilize solutions in the client environment using supported templates and profiles, owning release readiness and runtime accountability for what the cell ships.
• Direct the work of the cell’s Implementation Engineer and Data Engineer, ensuring integrations, orchestration, and data readiness come together into a coherent, production‑grade outcome.
• Ensure every deployment meets safety, integrity, and cost constraints, partnering with control authorities and the Distinguished AFE on safe‑to‑ship decisions for regulated environments.

Skills

Outcome ownership

Client presence

Hands-on coding

AI governance

Communication

Education

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

Job description

EY is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems for a single client engagement in highly regulated industries. This hands-on role embeds with the client, driving technical direction, tradeoffs, and production readiness while managing a small cell of specialists.

You will design and implement core solution components, ensuring secure, production-grade outcomes within regulatory constraints and a bias toward delivering real client value.