Hands-On AI Forward Engineering Lead (Client-Embedded)

EY; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 126,000 - 262,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid client work model

Medical and dental coverage

401(k) plan

Job summary

EY seeks a hands-on Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own the end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems for a single client engagement. Embedded with the client, you will dive into code and environments, owning tradeoffs, and trusted relationships to drive successful, production-grade outcomes in regulated settings.

You will lead a small cell, set the technical direction, and manage data, integrations, and orchestration while maintaining production readiness and safety compliance throughout the

Qualifications

• 8+ years delivering complex enterprise systems, ideally in regulated or client-facing contexts.
• 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 roles, owning outcomes end to end.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end outcome delivery for the cell, including scoping, tradeoffs, technical direction, and production readiness.
• Embed directly with the client to define the real problem and translate business needs into technical solutions under constraints.
• Serve as primary technical interface and trusted advisor to client stakeholders.
• Stay hands-on, designing and building critical parts of the solution when needed.
• Deploy, adapt, and stabilize solutions in the client environment with release readiness in mind.
• Direct the work of the cell’s Implementation Engineer and Data Engineer to deliver a coherent outcome.
• Ensure deployments meet safety, integrity, and cost constraints with regulatory oversight.

Skills

Outcome ownership

Client presence

Hands-on coding

AI systems

Communication

Autonomy

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science or related

Tools

Cloud platforms

Distributed systems

AI frameworks

Job description

EY seeks a hands-on Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own the end-to-end delivery of AI-native systems for a single client engagement. Embedded with the client, you will dive into code and environments, owning tradeoffs, and trusted relationships to drive successful, production-grade outcomes in regulated settings.

You will lead a small cell, set the technical direction, and manage data, integrations, and orchestration while maintaining production readiness and safety compliance throughout the