Lead / Senior Forward Deployed Engineer – Gen AI

Lead / Senior Forward Deployed Engineer – Generative AIRemote in UK or Ireland only — you must be living in the United Kingdom or Ireland for this role.

Work directly with enterprise clients and senior stakeholders on advanced AI & Generative AI projects.

This is a senior hands-on engineering role with a strong client-facing and discovery element. It could suit a Lead Engineer, Staff Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Technical Lead, or very strong Senior Engineer who enjoys working close to customers and shaping real-world AI solutions.

Before you read the rest of the job description, please note the non-negotiable experience required:

• You are a highly experienced software engineer with strong full-stack, backend, or systems engineering experience.
• You have external client-facing experience, meaning you have worked directly with external customers or clients on technical projects.
• You are comfortable communicating with senior technical and business stakeholders.
• You can build functional prototypes quickly to test ideas, validate requirements, and move unclear problems towards practical solutions.
• You have commercial AI experience, or if not commercial, you have a strong personal interest in Generative AI through personal projects, tools, experimentation, or active learning.

We’re partnering with a fast-growing technology company building enterprise-grade B2B Generative AI solutions for complex real-world problems.

This is not a role where you sit in the background waiting for fully written requirements. You will work with clients to understand the problem, build to learn, test ideas quickly, and help turn early discovery into practical technical direction.

Must have experience for the Lead/Senior Forward Deployer Engineer

You’ll need to show real-world experience across these areas:

Strong Engineering Expertise

You have a solid software engineering background and can design, build, and reason through complex technical systems.

External Client-Facing Experience

You have worked directly with external clients or enterprise customers, including technical discovery, workshops, stakeholder conversations, or project delivery discussions.

Prototype-Led Problem Solving

You are comfortable building functional prototypes in days or weeks to validate ideas, shape requirements, and create a clear technical path forward.

Generative AI Experience or Genuine Interest

You have either commercial AI experience or clear evidence that you are actively experimenting with Generative AI tools, frameworks, or projects.

You will:

• Work directly with client stakeholders to understand business and technical challenges.
• Lead technical discovery sessions, workshops, and early-stage solution discussions.
• Build quick functional prototypes to test ideas and validate what will actually work.
• Translate messy or unclear client problems into practical technical direction.
• Help guide solutions from discovery into delivery.
• Make sensible architectural and design decisions.
• Work closely with engineering, data, ML, and product teams.
• Mentor or support other engineers where needed.

You bring:

• Lead, Staff, Technical Lead, or strong Senior Software Engineering experience.
• Strong hands-on engineering ability across full-stack, backend, systems, or cloud-based software.
• Proven experience working directly with external clients or enterprise customers.
• Confidence leading technical conversations with senior stakeholders.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain technical ideas clearly.
• Comfort working in ambiguous situations where the answer is not fully known yet.
• A practical interest in Generative AI and how it can be applied to real business problems.
• Experience in regulated environments such as financial services, insurance, pharma, life sciences, or manufacturing would be useful, but is not essential.

This role is remote within the United Kingdom only. You must be living in the UK, legally able to work in the UK, and able to travel for client meetings when required.

The package:

• Excellent salary: £105,000 – £130,000
• Fully remote within the United Kingdom
• Occasional client travel
• Flexible hours
• Optional 4-day week
• Direct involvement in advanced enterprise Generative AI projects
• Strong progression route towards more senior forward-deployed engineering roles

This role is likely to suit someone who enjoys being close to the customer, solving unclear problems, and using engineering to prove what works.

It is probably not the right fit if you prefer purely back-office engineering, fully defined tickets, or building production systems without direct client involvement.

Apply now or reach out for a confidential conversation.

Please note: visa sponsorship is not available. You must already be legally eligible to work in the United Kingdom or Ireland.