Forward Deployed Engineer – Generative & Agentic AI

MWI Buying Group; Town of Texas, Northern (WI, KY); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Cencora seeks a Forward Deployed Engineer to embed with business units, turning real-world problems into production-grade Generative AI solutions within their systems and data.

You will scope, build, and ship AI capabilities, lead stakeholder workshops, and ensure reliable production deployments with MLOps practices, driving adoption across multiple engagements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, AI, Data Science, or a related field.
• 8+ years of software engineering / IT experience.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience building Generative AI / Agentic AI systems.
• Proven expertise in Python and modern AI development frameworks.
• Experience with LLMs (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Llama, or open weight models) and multiagent orchestration frameworks.
• Deep understanding of RAG architectures, vector databases, and embedding models.
• Experience with at least one major cloud platform (Azure, AWS, or GCP).
• Proven experience with MLOps/LLMOps: CI/CD, containerization, observability, and evaluation frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Embed directly with business units and stakeholder teams to understand workflows, data, and pain points firsthand.
• Scope and ship Generative AI / Agentic AI solutions directly inside the business's real systems and data.
• Design and build API-first integrations that connect AI capabilities into enterprise systems and workflows.

Skills

Python

LLMOps

MLOps

LangGraph

AutoGen

Semantic Kernel

RAG pipelines

Azure/AWS/GCP

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/AI/Data Science

Tools

LangGraph

AutoGen

Semantic Kernel

Job description

Our team members are at the heart of everything we do.

At Cencora, we are united in our responsibility to create healthier futures, and every person here is essential to us being able to deliver on that purpose.

If you want to make a difference at the center of health, come join our innovative company and help us improve the lives of people and animals everywhere.

Job Details

About the Role

We are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to embed directly with business units and stakeholder teams, turning real-world problems into working, production grade Generative and Agentic AI solutions in days and weeks, not months. This is a hands‑on, high ownership role that blends software engineering, solution architecture, and consulting: you scope the problem alongside the business, build the solution inside their actual systems and data, and feed what you learn back into our shared AI platform, so every future engagement moves faster. If you thrive in ambiguity, love shipping fast, and want your code to matter on day one, this role is built for you.

Key Responsibilities

Embed directly with business units and stakeholder teams to understand their workflows, data, and pain points firsthand, not from a spec document. Scope and ship working Generative AI / Agentic AI solutions (POCs, MVPs, and production features) directly inside the business's real systems and data, in days to weeks cycles. Build RAG pipelines, apply prompt engineering, and stand‑up evaluation frameworks ("evals") that prove a solution is accurate enough to trust before going live. Design and build API first integrations that connect AI capabilities into existing enterprise systems and workflows. Translate ambiguous business needs into technical specs and translate technical tradeoffs back into language executives and business stakeholders can act on. Lead stakeholder workshops, present progress transparently, and proactively flag risks before they become blockers. Stay engaged through stabilization and adoption and fixing issues as they surface in the real world, not just at handoff. Feed improvements, reusable components, and lessons learned back into the shared AI platform and toolkit so every future engagement benefits. Apply MLOps/LLMOps practices (CI/CD, monitoring, model/agent lifecycle management) to keep deployed solutions reliable in production.

Our Tech Stack

Databricks platform, Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, Databricks Apps, and Databricks AI Gateway for model routing and governance.

Microsoft Azure, including Azure AI Foundry for model deployment and orchestration.

Multi LLM provider access — Anthropic Claude, OpenAI (GPT & Codex), and other foundation models.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, AI, Data Science, or a related field.

8+ years of overall software engineering / IT experience.

3+ years of hands‑on experience building Generative AI / Agentic AI systems.

Strong expertise in Python and modern AI development frameworks.

Practical experience with LLMs (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Llama, or open weight models) and multiagent orchestration frameworks (LangGraph, AutoGen, or Semantic Kernel).

Deep understanding of RAG architectures, vector databases, and embedding models.

Experience with at least one major cloud platform (Azure, AWS, or GCP), including native AI services.

Proven experience with MLOps/LLMOps: CI/CD, containerization, observability, and evaluation frameworks.

Comfortable embedding directly with business or customer teams, including onsite engagement as needed.

Excellent communication skills — able to run stakeholder workshops and present to both executives and engineers in the same day.

Demonstrated ability to own a solution end‑to‑end in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments, from scoping through production.

Preferred Qualifications

Prior forward deployed, consulting, or solutions architecture experience.

Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) and emerging AI agent ecosystems.

Experience building evals with tools like Ragas, Lang Smith, or custom harnesses.

Business or domain fluency in a regulated industry (healthcare, finance, or government) where data sensitivity and compliance shape the solution.

Track record of building reusable frameworks or components that scale across multiple engagements.

HEALTHCARE DOMAIN PREFERENCE

We strongly prefer candidates who bring healthcare industry knowledge alongside AI expertise. Forward Deployed Engineers on our team embed directly with healthcare distribution and specialty pharmacy business units — experience with healthcare distribution, specialty pharma data, or healthcare EMR/EHR systems (HL7, FHIR, claims, ND level data) is a significant advantage in building trust and shipping solutions that fit really clinical and operational workflows.

What Cencora offers

We provide compensation, benefits, and resources that enable a highly inclusive culture and support our team members’ ability to live with purpose every day. In addition to traditional offerings like medical, dental, and vision care, we also provide a comprehensive suite of benefits that focus on the physical, emotional, financial, and social aspects of wellness.

This encompasses support for working families, which may include backup dependent care, adoption assistance, infertility coverage, family building support, behavioral health solutions, paid parental leave, and paid caregiver leave.

To encourage your personal growth, we also offer a variety of training programs, professional development resources, and opportunities to participate in mentorship programs, employee resource groups, volunteer activities, and much more.

For details, visit https://www.virtualfairhub.com/cencora

Temps Plein Equal Employment Opportunity

Cencora is committed to providing equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or membership in any other class protected by federal, state or local law. The company’s continued success depends on the full and effective utilization of qualified individuals.

Therefore, harassment is prohibited and all matters related to recruiting, training, compensation, benefits, promotions and transfers comply with equal opportunity principles and are non-discriminatory.

Cencora is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the employment process which are consistent with legal requirements. If you wish to request an accommodation while seeking employment, please call 888.692.2272 or email [e-mail].

We will make accommodation determinations on a request‑by‑request basis. Messages and emails regarding anything other than accommodations requests will not be returned.

Affiliated Companies

International Oncology Network Solutions Inc Cencora is a leading global pharmaceutical solutions company that is committed to improving the lives of people and animals everywhere. We connect manufacturers, providers, and patients to ensure that anyone can get the therapies they need, where and when they need them. We’re a purpose‑driven organization, where all of our team members around the world are united in our responsibility to create healthier futures. We work together every day to help our partners bring their innovations to patients worldwide, creating unparalleled access and impact at the center of health.