Director, AI Forward Deployed Researcher

TELUS Digital

7d•$211,000 - $264,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Forward Deployed Researcher is a strategic leader, advanced AI research specialist, and manager who directly oversees and engages in the highest-value client implementations. This role is responsible for driving frontier AI research into production, setting the strategic technical direction for enterprise clients, and managing a team of Forward Deployed Researchers and Engineers. This role operates at the critical intersection of cutting-edge research, software engineering, executive-level strategic consulting, and team management. As a Forward Deployed Researcher, Director, you will embed directly within Fortune 500 and highly regulated client organizations to advance frontier AI implementations, shape AI strategy, deliver bespoke production systems, and build world-class technical teams. Unlike traditional research leaders who remain in labs or remote environments, you will be embedded within client teams, walking the halls of banks, healthcare organizations, and tech companies to understand their unique challenges, conduct applied research, and lead the delivery of transformative AI solutions grounded in both frontier techniques and practical enterprise constraints.

Requirements

10+ years of hands-on software engineering and AI/ML experience with production systems
4+ years in senior leadership or management roles managing technical teams of at least 5+ professionals (e.g., managing Forward Deployed Engineers, Solution Engineers, or Research teams)
Proven ability to serve as a strategic advisor and technical authority to C-level stakeholders
Deep expertise in frontier GenAI/LLMs, including: RAG systems and vector databases, Agentic AI and multi-agent systems, Fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and in-context learning, Evaluation frameworks and metrics for LLM systems, Production MLOps and deployment
Hands-on proficiency with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and modern AI/ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, Hugging Face)
Proven track record of success in ambiguous, complex environments with a high degree of autonomy
Excellent communication skills across technical, research, and executive audiences
Self-directed and resourceful, comfortable operating independently at client sites and leading without direct authority
Client-centric mindset with the ability to build trust and credibility quickly with C-level stakeholders
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, AI/ML, or related field

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MS/PhD in Computer Science, AI/ML, or related field)
Experience at AI platform/research companies (Anthropic, OpenAI, Palantir, Scale AI, Cohere, etc.) in research, Forward Deployed, or leadership roles
Experience at top-tier consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, Deloitte) in technical or engineering leadership roles
Published technical work or recognized AI/ML expertise, contributing to thought leadership and industry recognition
Prior work in regulated industries (financial services, healthcare) with compliance requirements and enterprise complexity
Track record of mentoring engineers and building high-performing teams
Computer vision and/or data annotation platform expertise
Multilingual capabilities for global client engagement
Open-source contributions or active participation in the AI research community
Experience building bespoke solutions vs. configuring off-the-shelf products

Responsibilities

Act as a trusted technical and research advisor to client executive leadership (CTOs, Heads of AI, VPs of Engineering, Board Members) on overall AI strategy, roadmap, and competitive positioning
Translate frontier AI research and complex technical concepts into actionable business strategies and implementation plans that justify premium engagement and drive measurable ROI
Shape client understanding of what constitutes "production-ready," "scalable," and "competitive" AI systems within regulated industries
Conduct market and technical landscape analysis to inform client AI strategy and identify emerging opportunities
Provide thought leadership on AI best practices, emerging technologies, research trends, and industry benchmarks
Identify opportunities for AI adoption, value creation, and competitive advantage within client organizations
Mentor client AI leadership teams on research methodologies, experimentation, and validation practices
Manage, mentor, and scale a team of Forward Deployed Researchers and Engineers embedded at high-value client organizations
Oversee the development and delivery of bespoke, research-backed production systems across multiple, concurrent client engagements
Establish best practices, technical frameworks, methodologies, and accelerators for the team that benefit multiple clients and scale across TELUS Digital
Recruit, develop, and retain top-tier Forward Deployed talent; create career development pathways and technical competency frameworks
Serve as an internal thought leader, sharing research insights, lessons learned, and best practices across the Forward Deployed Engineer community
Mentor junior Forward Deployed Engineers and Solutions Engineers on technical, consulting, and leadership skills
Foster a culture of innovation, client-centricity, continuous improvement, and technical excellence within the team
Establish metrics, KPIs, and performance management systems for team success and client impact
Lead high-impact, applied AI research initiatives to address the client’s most complex and ambiguous challenges during 3-6 month+ onsite engagements
Design and implement advanced GenAI/LLM solutions (e.g., advanced RAG, multi-agent systems, custom fine-tuning, synthetic data generation, RLHF) tailored to clients’ unique requirements and constraints
Build production-ready AI systems addressing data quality, evaluation, governance, and deployment challenges in regulated environments
Conduct frontier AI experiments (novel architectures, training methodologies, evaluation frameworks) with direct applicability to client use cases
Ensure all production systems meet stringent security, compliance, performance, and scalability requirements for Fortune 500 and highly regulated clients
Integrate TELUS Digital capabilities with client infrastructure, data platforms, and workflows
Architect systems that the client can operate and evolve long-term with reduced dependency on external support
Own end-to-end delivery from discovery, research, and validation through production deployment and optimization
Partner with TELUS Digital Product, Engineering, and Research teams to leverage platform capabilities and inform product roadmap based on client research insights
Collaborate with Sales and Account teams on opportunity expansion, account strategy, and client success
Represent client voice internally to drive product, service, and research improvements
Participate in analyst relations and thought leadership initiatives to elevate TELUS Digital's market position
Work with other Forward Deployed Directors and Engineers to share learnings and establish organizational best practices
Stay at the frontier of AI models, frameworks, and deployment patterns; maintain hands-on expertise in cutting-edge areas
Experiment with emerging AI technologies and assess applicability to client challenges and competitive positioning
Publish or present technical work, contributing to TELUS Digital's thought leadership and industry recognition
Build and maintain expertise in frontier areas (LLMs, multimodal AI, agentic systems, synthetic data, RLHF, evaluation frameworks, etc.)
Document technical approaches, architectures, research methodologies, and lessons learned
Contribute to open-source projects or TELUS Digital's technical community