Forward Deployed Engineer – AI

International Business Machines Corporation; Atlanta (GA); Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

IBM Consulting is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer – AI to partner with clients across industries to transform business challenges into production AI solutions. You will prototype, deploy, and scale GenAI/RAG applications, integrating with enterprise systems and cloud platforms, while emphasizing responsible AI and observability.

You'll work directly with clients, translate business needs into technical roadmaps, and deliver measurable impact.

Qualifications

• 5-7+ years of AI/ML, data science, or software engineering delivering production AI solutions.
• Strong Python and SQL with GenAI and agentic AI apps using LangChain, LangGraph, CrewAI.
• Experience with LLMs, RAG, embeddings and vector databases (Milvus, Elasticsearch, pgvector, Pinecone).
• Designing agentic AI workflows with LangChain/LangGraph, CrewAI, AutoGen and orchestration.
• Experience with scikit-learn, PyTorch, Pandas, Spark.
• Deploying AI solutions via REST/FastAPI, cloud platforms (AWS Bedrock, Azure, Google Vertex AI).
• Git, Docker, Kubernetes experience.
• Cloud AI platform experience (AWS Bedrock, Azure Foundry, Google Vertex AI).
• Strong client-facing communication in technical and non-technical contexts.
• Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering/Data Science.

Responsibilities

• Solve Client Challenges: identify AI use cases and establish success metrics.
• Build and Deploy AI Solutions: end-to-end GenAI, RAG, and agentic AI apps on cloud platforms.
• Engineer Agentic and GenAI Systems: design LLM-powered agents, tool use, orchestration, guardrails.
• Data Engineering and Integrations: prepare data and integrate AI with enterprise systems.
• Scale and Operationalize AI: apply MLOps/LLMOps, testing, monitoring, responsible AI.
• Drive Business Impact: present insights and support client adoption.

Skills

Python

SQL

GenAI

LLMs

LangChain

LangGraph

CrewAI

APIs

AWS Bedrock

Docker

Kubernetes

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field

Tools

LangChain

LangGraph

CrewAI

Vertex AI

Azure AI Foundry

Amazon Bedrock

REST/FastAPI

Git

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

A career in IBM Consulting is built on long-term client relationships and close collaboration worldwide. You'll work with leading companies across industries, helping them shape their hybrid cloud and AI journeys. With support from our strategic partners, robust IBM technology, and Red Hat, you'll have the tools to drive meaningful change and accelerate client impact. At IBM Consulting, curiosity fuels success. You'll be encouraged to challenge the norm, explore new ideas, and create innovative solutions that deliver real results. Our culture of growth and empathy focuses on your long-term career development while valuing your unique skills and experiences.

A career in IBM Consulting is built on long-term client relationships and close collaboration worldwide. You'll work with leading companies across industries, helping them shape their hybrid cloud and AI journeys. With support from our strategic partners, robust IBM technology, and Red Hat, you'll have the tools to drive meaningful change and accelerate client impact. At IBM Consulting, curiosity fuels success. You'll be encouraged to challenge the norm, explore new ideas, and create innovative solutions that deliver real results. Our culture of growth and empathy focuses on your long-term career development while valuing your unique skills and experiences.

Your Role And Responsibilities

As a Forward Deployed Engineer – AI, you will work directly with clients to transform complex business challenges into production-ready AI solutions. Combining software engineering, data science, GenAI, agentic AI, and advanced analytics, you will rapidly prototype, deploy, and scale solutions that deliver measurable business value.

Your Primary Responsibilities Will Include

• Solve Client Challenges: Partner with business and technical teams to identify opportunities, define AI use cases, and establish success metrics.
• Build and Deploy AI Solutions: Develop end-to-end GenAI, RAG, and agentic AI applications using tools such as LangGraph, CrewAI, and hyperscaler cloud AI platforms (e.g., AWS, Google, Azure).
• Engineer Agentic and GenAI Systems: Design and implement LLM-powered agents, tool use and orchestration, prompt and context engineering, and evaluation frameworks using platforms such as LangGraph, CrewAI, Vertex AI, Azure AI Foundry, or Amazon Bedrock. Apply guardrails, observability, and testing to ensure accuracy, safety, and reliability.
• Data Engineering and Integrations: Prepare structured and unstructured data and integrate AI solutions with enterprise systems, APIs, and data platforms.
• Scale and Operationalize AI: Apply MLOps/LLMOps, testing, monitoring, and responsible AI practices to ensure solutions are reliable, secure, and production-ready.
• Drive Business Impact: Present insights, demonstrate outcomes, support client adoption, and turn successful solutions into reusable assets for future engagements.

This job can be performed from anywhere in the US.

Preferred Education

Master's Degree

Required Technical And Professional Expertise

• 5-7+ years of experience in AI/ML, data science, or software engineering, delivering production AI solutions.
• Strong Python and SQL skills, with hands-on experience building GenAI and agentic AI applications, including LLMs, RAG, and multi-step workflows using tools such as LangChain, LangGraph, or CrewAI.
• Hands-on experience building GenAI applications with large language models, including RAG, prompt and context engineering, embeddings and vector databases (e.g., Milvus, Elasticsearch, pgvector, Pinecone), and LLM evaluation.
• Experience designing and building agentic AI workflows using frameworks such as LangChain/LangGraph, CrewAI, AutoGen, including tool calling and multi-step orchestration.
• Experience with machine learning and data processing using tools such as scikit-learn, PyTorch, Pandas, or Spark.
• Experience integrating and deploying AI solutions using APIs (REST/FastAPI), cloud AI platforms (AWS Bedrock, Azure AI, or Google Vertex AI), and tools such as Git, Docker, or Kubernetes.
• Experience with at least one major cloud AI platform (AWS Bedrock, Azure AI Foundry, or Google Vertex AI).
• Strong client-facing skills, with the ability to translate business challenges into technical solutions and communicate with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field.

Preferred Technical And Professional Experience

• Master’s or PhD in a technical or quantitative field.
• Experience with LLM fine-tuning, AI evaluation and governance,
• Industry experience in high tech, electronics or manufacturing.
• Background in forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, or client-facing consulting.
• Front-end development experience (e.g., React or Streamlit), cloud/AI certifications, or open-source AI contributions.