Principal Forward-Deployed AI Engineer

Amazon Inc.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 271,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Web Services, Inc. is seeking a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer to embed with strategic enterprise customers, defining tech strategy and reusable architectures for AI-powered production systems at scale.

You will write production-grade software and influence multi-workstream engagements from Seattle and beyond. The role requires a Top Secret clearance and the ability to obtain TS/SCI with polygraph.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of non‑internship software development experience.
• 8+ years leading the design and architecture of large‑scale production systems.
• Experience building production AI or ML platforms across products or customers.
• Experience with enterprise‑scale agentic workflows, multi‑agent orchestration, or AI system governance.
• Current, active US Government Security Clearance of Top Secret or above.

Responsibilities

• Define technical strategy across engagements.
• Set the technical direction for complex, high‑stakes AI programs with cross‑workstream impact. Travel up to 25%.
• Build production AI systems and reference architectures for scalable patterns.
• Own production excellence with standards, evaluation frameworks and readiness criteria.
• Accelerate customer transformation by creating accelerators and reusable platforms.
• Raise the bar for engineering excellence and mentor senior engineers.

Skills

Software development experience

Large-scale production systems

AI/ML platforms

Agentic workflows / AI governance

Security clearance (Top Secret)

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Master's degree or higher (preferred)

Job description

Amazon Web Services, Inc. is seeking a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer to embed with strategic enterprise customers, defining tech strategy and reusable architectures for AI-powered production systems at scale.

You will write production-grade software and influence multi-workstream engagements from Seattle and beyond. The role requires a Top Secret clearance and the ability to obtain TS/SCI with polygraph.