Lead AI Forward Engineering Cell — Hands-On, Client-Facing

Ernst & Young Oman; Jefferson City (MO); Hybrid; USD 126,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Total Rewards package: medical, dental

Pension / 401(k) and generous time off

Job summary

EY is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own end-to-end delivery of AI-native solutions for a single client in regulated industries. The role embeds with the client, balancing deep technical execution with stakeholder management to ensure production-grade outcomes.

You will lead a small cell, set technical direction, and maintain a strong client presence while delivering secure, compliant, and scalable results in complex environments.

Qualifications

• 8+ years delivering complex enterprise systems.
• Hands-on engineering depth across integration-heavy architectures, cloud platforms, and distributed systems.
• Experience with modern AI-enabled application stacks.
• Proven ability to operate in forward-deployed, customer-facing, or solutions-architecture roles, owning outcomes end to end.
• Demonstrated ability to lead a small technical team while remaining an individual contributor.
• Strong stakeholder-management skills, including managing client expectations under pressure.
• Solid understanding of software delivery lifecycle, quality gates, and production readiness in enterprise settings.

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 ambiguous business needs into an executable technical solution.
• Serve as the primary technical interface and trusted advisor to client stakeholders, managing expectations and tradeoffs.
• Stay hands-on, personally designing and building critical parts of the solution in client environments.
• Deploy, adapt, and stabilize solutions in the client environment with release readiness and runtime accountability.
• Direct the work of the cell’s Implementation Engineer and Data Engineer to ensure cohesive, production-grade outcomes.
• Ensure deployments meet safety, integrity, and cost constraints with safe-to-ship decisions.

Skills

8+ years experience

Integration architectures

Cloud platforms

Distributed systems

AI-enabled stacks

Forward-deployed roles

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

SDLC knowledge

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s in CS or related field

Job description

EY is seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer to own end-to-end delivery of AI-native solutions for a single client in regulated industries. The role embeds with the client, balancing deep technical execution with stakeholder management to ensure production-grade outcomes.

You will lead a small cell, set technical direction, and maintain a strong client presence while delivering secure, compliant, and scalable results in complex environments.