EY- GDS – AI & Data – Manager – Forward Deployed Engineer

As part of our EY-GDS AI & Data team, we help our clients solve complex business challenges with the help of AI, Automation, Data Engineering technology. We drive value and discover opportunities in key business and functions like Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing and Auto, Supply Chain, and Finance.

The opportunity

We are seeking a Manager for Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) with 9+ years of deep, hands-on engineering experience to design, build, and deploy AI-powered solutions directly with clients. This role is ideal for an elite individual contributor who thrives in ambiguous environments, prefers building real systems over managing teams, and can translate business problems into production-grade AI solutions. The individual should have worked on GenAI, AI/ML, Data Science solutions on multiple proprietary enterprise AI tech stacks along with Hyperscalers, Platform AI tech stack.

Role Purpose:

• Lead complex end-to-end deployments in production at strategic customers.
• Lead the discovery, design, development, and deployment of high-impact AI / GenAI-powered solutions in close collaboration with client stakeholders.
• Build LLM-driven applications, RAG systems, and agentic workflows that demonstrate measurable business value.
• Drive innovation by creating reusable accelerators, frameworks, and reference implementations for enterprise GenAI deployments.
• Enable rapid experimentation and large-scale adoption of AI, data, and cloud platforms through hands-on engineering leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with client business and engineering teams to translate complex problems into executable GenAI solutions.
• Own solution delivery end‑to‑end, from discovery and architecture through production deployment.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to senior and executive client stakeholders.
• Design and build LLM‑powered applications, including copilots, assistants, RAG systems, and agentic workflows.
• Integrate GenAI solutions with enterprise data platforms, APIs, and external systems.
• Optimize solutions across latency, cost, accuracy, scalability, security, and compliance.
• Convert PoCs into production‑grade, enterprise‑ready platforms through rapid iteration and feedback.
• Architect scalable, reliable, and observable systems using cloud‑native patterns.
• Develop reusable accelerators, reference architectures, and best practices for enterprise GenAI adoption.

Required Skills & Experience

Mandatory

• 9+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, or AI/ML.
• Strong hands-on experience building, deploying, and operating production-grade systems.
• Expert-level proficiency in Python for large-scale, high-performance applications.
• Proven delivery experience in client-facing and high-ambiguity environments.
• Solid foundation in distributed systems, microservices, APIs, and cloud‑native architectures.
• Demonstrated ability to independently own and deliver complex, high-impact initiatives.
• Excellent communicator, effective with both technical teams and business stakeholders and should have worked directly with clients.

Desired / Preferred

• Hands-on experience with LLM APIs and prompt engineering, RAG architectures and vector databases, Agentic workflows and orchestration frameworks
• Experience integrating AI systems with enterprise data platforms.
• Exposure to AI ecosystem – OpenAI, Claude, Cursor, Palantir, and many others along with Hyperscalers – Azure, AWS, GCP, and similar ecosystem.
• Experience with DevOps, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure automation.
• Consulting, global delivery, or field engineering experience with direct client exposure
• Prior Forward Deployed Engineer / Solutions Engineer / Field Engineer background.
• Experience building 0 → 1 AI or data products.
• Exposure to MLOps practices and model monitoring.
• Frontend or UI exposure for AI-driven applications.

What This Role Is NOT

• Not a people management role
• Not a delivery governance or program management role
• Not limited to architecture reviews — you are expected to build and ship

What we look for

• Deep technical expertise with genuine enthusiasm for building and learning.
• Senior engineer who still codes regularly and enjoys it
• Builder mindset over managerial aspirations.
• Strong communication with both engineers and business leaders
• Curious, adaptable, and comfortable learning fast

What working at EY offers

At EY, we’re dedicated to helping our clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies — and the work we do with them is as varied as they are.

You get to work with inspiring and meaningful projects. Our focus is education and coaching alongside practical experience to ensure your personal development. We value our employees, and you will be able to control your own development with an individual progression plan. You will quickly grow into a responsible role with challenging and stimulating assignments. Moreover, you will be part of an interdisciplinary environment that emphasizes high quality and knowledge exchange. Plus, we offer:

• Support, coaching and feedback from some of the most engaging colleagues around
• Opportunities to develop new skills and progress your career
• The freedom and flexibility to handle your role in a way that’s right for you