Forward‑Deployed AI Engineer & Model Lead

EY; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 126,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Total Rewards package

Job summary

EY is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer Manager to lead client-embedded AI workstreams, delivering modern AI engineering, machine learning, and generative AI solutions. You will guide teams across data sources, cloud and on-prem environments, ensuring scalable, responsible deployment with measurable business value.

You will collaborate with diverse, hybrid and global teams, drive solution design, and maintain hands-on involvement in development, while aligning with EY’s focus on responsible AI

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required (4-year degree).
• 6-10 years of relevant experience in AI, Data Science, and/or Machine Learning.
• 2-4 years of experience directly managing technical teams.
• Strong skills in Python.
• Ability to lead, collaborate, and communicate effectively with diverse, hybrid and global teams.
• Experience identifying, solutioning, designing, building, deploying, operating, and expanding high-impact production AI/ML solutions on a major cloud platform.
• Proficient in foundation models, generative AI, and agentic AI frameworks (e.g., OpenAI, Dall‑E, Langchain, RAG); experience with ML packages like scikit-learn and PyTorch.
• Experience with NLP and deep learning.
• Extensive experience in AI-assisted and DevOps tools (Claude, Codex, Cursor, GitHub, Azure DevOps), Agile methodologies (Jira), and CI/CD pipelines; MLOps, LLMOps, and AgentOps; data ingestion, transformation, and evaluation.
• Experience with model retraining and feedback loop methodologies.
• Experience with model evaluation, observability, monitoring, and reporting.
• Understanding of data structures, data modelling, software engineering, and Responsible AI practices.
• Strong foundation in mathematics, statistics, and operations research; proficient in SQL, Pandas, Spark and deep learning techniques.
• Excellent communication skills for conveying findings and recommendations; willingness to travel for client engagements.
• Skills in Technical Design Optimization.
• Strong relationship-building skills.
• Demonstrated client trust and value.
• Digital fluency and emotional agility.
• Commercial acumen and negotiation skills.
• Proven ability to lead teams and manage change.

Responsibilities

• Leading client-embedded AI workstreams from opportunity identification and process diagnosis through solution design, deployment, value measurement and optimization.
• Redesigning client processes for human-AI collaboration and continuously improving delivery through research and rapid prototyping.
• Managing lean, multidisciplinary teams to deliver complex AI engineering initiatives with architecture oversight and responsible deployment.
• Building trust with business and technology stakeholders, guiding product and agile delivery from planning through execution and closure.
• Demonstrating realized value and identifying adjacent use cases, supporting solution demonstrations and proposals, and managing engagement economics.
• Defining solution architecture and guiding hands-on development of agentic workflows, orchestration, memory, retrieval, reusable components, APIs, MCP connectors, and agent-to-agent integrations.
• Establishing evaluations, observability, governance, access controls, and risk mitigations for secure operation of AI and agentic systems.
• Using and coaching teams on AI-native development tools to increase delivery speed without compromising engineering quality.

Skills

Python

AI/ML

Leadership

Client engagement

Cloud platforms

MLOps

Generative AI

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

Tools

Jira

GitHub

Azure DevOps

Langchain

OpenAI

Job description

EY is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer Manager to lead client-embedded AI workstreams, delivering modern AI engineering, machine learning, and generative AI solutions. You will guide teams across data sources, cloud and on-prem environments, ensuring scalable, responsible deployment with measurable business value.

You will collaborate with diverse, hybrid and global teams, drive solution design, and maintain hands-on involvement in development, while aligning with EY’s focus on responsible AI