Forward Deployed Engineer

AHEAD; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k)

Paid holidays

Paid time off

Parental leave

Caregiver leave

Job summary

AHEAD is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer to embed within its AI transformation function. You will design, build, and run production AI applications on enterprise GPT platforms, delivering end-to-end solutions from discovery to deployment.

You will collaborate with business stakeholders, a transformation consultant, and an adoption lead to enable scalable, secure AI capabilities. The role emphasizes translating ambiguous business needs into practical AI patterns, building orchestration, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Experience building production AI solutions and agent development.
• Familiarity with AI solution patterns (RAG, orchestration, model integration).
• Experience integrating enterprise apps via APIs and webhooks.
• Strong collaboration with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Build on the Enterprise GPT Platform by designing and shipping agents and multi-step workflows using GPT platforms and tools.
• Integrate and orchestrate data connections from enterprise systems and extensible workflows across teams.
• Identify and solve business friction points, prototype rapidly, and validate with real users for scalable solutions.
• Own LLM quality, telemetry and cost, including guardrails, evaluation, and usage instrumentation.

Skills

AI platform design

agent development

workflow orchestration

security & compliance

API integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Glean

Claude

n8n

Zapier

Make

Job description

AHEAD builds platforms for digital business by weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation, analytics, and software delivery to help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation.

We prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived.

The Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

The Forward Deployed Engineer is a hands‑on role embedded within AHEAD’s internal AI transformation function. You will design, build, and run production AI applications on enterprise GPT platforms, including custom agents, workflows, connectors, and integrations. You will operate as the technical build resource within a cross‑functional delivery team, partnering closely with business stakeholders, a transformation consultant, and an adoption lead to support one of AHEAD's key domains. This person owns the full solution lifecycle from discovery and design through build, rollout, optimization, and ongoing support.

This role is well suited for someone who enjoys working directly with business teams, translating ambiguous needs into practical AI‑enabled solutions, and building production AI patterns such as orchestration, model integration, evaluation, observability, and secure enterprise deployment. Success in the role requires comfort working inside a shared team model where solution design, user adoption, and business outcomes are delivered in close coordination rather than in isolation.

Responsibilities

• Build on the Enterprise GPT Platform
  • Design and ship agents and multi‑step workflows using Glean, Claude, and other GPT platforms and applying platform tools such as Agent Builder, actions, MCP tools, and adjacent automation tools (e.g., n8n, Zapier, Make).
  • Apply AI solution patterns such as retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), workflow orchestration, agent‑assisted processes, model integration, API‑based automation, and human‑in‑the‑loop review.
• Integrate & Orchestrate
  • Create connections to ingest data from enterprise systems like Salesforce, ServiceNow, SharePoint/Teams, email, and internal APIs.
  • Extend platform capabilities through MCP‑based integrations and context‑aware workflows that improve the usefulness and reach of AI solutions.
  • Implement custom services and integrations, including REST APIs and webhooks, when platform‑native patterns or existing automations are not sufficient.
  • Ensure solutions are secure, reliable, observable, and compliant with enterprise standards.
  • Create reusable templates, components, and solution patterns that can be applied across teams and use cases.
• Identify & Solve Business Friction Points
  • Proactively surface pain points across business workflows and reimagine them leveraging the best available technology to create impact.
  • Rapidly prototype, validate with real users, and harden MVPs into scalable, production solutions.
  • Partner with stakeholders to prioritize high‑impact use cases based on business value, feasibility, risk, and repeatability, with a focus on scalable solutions rather than one‑offs.
  • Measure and communicate the value of solutions delivered, including time saved, errors reduced, adoption, reliability, and operational performance.
• Own LLM Quality, Telemetry & Cost
  • Apply production LLM practices: prompt and agent design, guardrails, and evaluation.
  • Use test sets, quality metrics, and offline or online evaluation methods to improve solution performance over time.
  • Instrument usage, reliability, and token/credit consumption at the agent and team level.
  • Use data to improve quality and reduce unnecessary spend (context scoping, summarization, caching, model choice).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Data and Analytics.
• Experience in technical roles such as Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Integration Engineer, Automation Engineer, or similar roles with direct stakeholder engagement.
• Experience designing or supporting AI‑enabled solutions in production environments, including prompting and system design, agent development, and workflow configuration.
• Familiarity with evaluation approaches such as test sets, quality metrics, and iterative improvement loops.
• Working knowledge of AI solution patterns such as retrieval‑augmented generation, orchestration, model integration, vector‑backed retrieval, and human‑in‑the‑loop workflows.
• Ability to configure existing connectors to access required data.
• Experience integrating enterprise applications using APIs, webhooks, automation tools, or lightweight services.
• Familiarity with observability, monitoring, governance, guardrails, and responsible AI controls in enterprise environments.

Preferred Experience

• Familiarity with common business systems such as Salesforce, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Teams, ServiceNow, ticketing or ITSM platforms, and CRM or ERP tools.
• Hands‑on experience with Enterprise GPT platforms (e.g., Glean, Claude) and automation tools (e.g., n8n, Zapier, Make).
• Familiarity with enterprise security concepts such as RBAC, least privilege, SSO, SAML, OAuth, OIDC, and auditability.
• Experience working in cross‑functional delivery teams that pair solution building with business process transformation, user enablement, and change support.

How You Work

• Operate as a builder and long‑term advisor, not just an implementer.
• Comfortable being embedded with business teams while upholding platform and security standards.
• Communicate clearly with executives and non‑technical stakeholders about trade‑offs, risks, and impact.
• Move fast on prototypes, but know when to slow down for risk, security, or cost.
• Stay current on the cutting edge of AI—new models, MCP developments, agentic frameworks, and emerging tooling—and bring relevant innovations back to AHEAD.
• Continuously scan the business for friction points and unmet needs; show up with ideas, not just execution.
• Work effectively as part of a small, embedded team where technical build, business problem framing, and adoption support are closely coordinated.

Compensation

The compensation range indicated in this posting reflects the On‑Target Earnings ("OTE") for this role, which includes a base salary and any applicable target bonus amount. This OTE range may vary based on the candidate's relevant experience, qualifications, and geographic location.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid company holidays
• Paid time off
• Paid parental and caregiver leave
• Plus more! See benefits https://www.aheadbenefits.com/ for additional details.