Lead Forward Deployed Engineer

Elios AI; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Elios AI in Phoenix, AZ is seeking a senior engineer to lead client engagements building production AI systems, owning delivery from scoping through deployment. You will stay hands-on with architecture and code while guiding a small team of engineers and serving as the technical voice clients trust.

You'll lead end-to-end production AI engagements, architect LLM-powered systems, and present recommendations to stakeholders while ensuring high-quality delivery and strong client relationships in a

Qualifications

• 7+ years of production software engineering including substantial LLM work.
• Experience leading client-facing delivery with shipped projects.
• Deep experience with production AI patterns: retrieval metrics, hallucination mitigation, latency and cost optimization.
• Full-stack capability across Python, TypeScript, React and modern backend frameworks.
• Able to lead a team while remaining a hands-on technical contributor.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of production AI engagements end to end, from scoping through deployment.
• Architect LLM-powered systems: multi-agent platforms, hybrid RAG pipelines, and integrations with cost controls and fallback strategies.
• Present technical recommendations to stakeholders and then deliver on them.
• Guide and review the work of other engineers without stepping out of the code yourself.
• Establish evals, observability, and quality bars so what ships holds up under real usage.
• Direct agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) with intent, owning every line that goes out.

Skills

LLM work

Client-facing delivery

Full-stack dev

Python/TypeScript/React

Team leadership

Production software eng

Tools

Claude Code

Cursor

Codex

Job description

Location: Phoenix, AZ | Type: Full Time | Setup: Hybrid | Experience: 7+ years

About the Role

You'll lead client engagements building production AI systems, owning delivery from the first scoping conversation through deployment. You stay hands-on with the architecture and the code while guiding a small team of engineers and serving as the technical voice clients trust.

Our client is an organization putting AI into production at enterprise scale, where engagements succeed on both engineering quality and stakeholder communication. Building the right thing matters as much as building the thing right.

This role is for engineers who lead from the front: still shipping, still reviewing code, still fluent in current tooling, while carrying the client relationship.

What You'll Do

• Lead delivery of production AI engagements end to end, from scoping through deployment
• Architect LLM-powered systems: multi-agent platforms, hybrid RAG pipelines, and integrations with cost controls and fallback strategies
• Present technical recommendations to stakeholders and then deliver on them
• Guide and review the work of other engineers without stepping out of the code yourself
• Establish evals, observability, and quality bars so what ships holds up under real usage
• Direct agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) with intent, owning every line that goes out

Qualifications

• 7+ years of production software engineering, including substantial LLM-focused work
• A track record of leading client-facing delivery, with projects that shipped and ran reliably
• Deep experience with production AI patterns: retrieval metrics, hallucination mitigation, latency and cost optimization
• Full-stack capability across Python, TypeScript, React, and modern backend frameworks
• Able to lead a team while remaining a hands-on technical contributor

Why Join Us

You'll own meaningful engagements with real authority over how they're delivered, alongside practitioners who build the same systems daily. Competitive compensation and benefits.