Forward Deployed AI Engineer

Accenture Federal Services•Washington, DC

4d•$70,500 - $203,400

About The Position

The APX Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) Program represents a strategic initiative to position Accenture Federal Services at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation in government. This program embeds elite technical talent directly with federal clients to accelerate the adoption and implementation of frontier AI capabilities from leading laboratories including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and other cutting-edge AI partners. As an FDE, you will serve as the critical bridge between breakthrough AI technology and mission-critical federal applications. You'll work hands-on with the most advanced AI models available, translating their transformative potential into tangible value for defense, intelligence, civilian, and public health missions. This is not a traditional consulting role; FDEs are technical practitioners, innovators, and trusted advisors who operate at the cutting edge of what's possible with AI in highly regulated, high-security federal environments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional software engineering experience, including leading the design, build, and deployment of production systems
Experience working with technical engineering teams, providing clear direction, and ensuring smooth delivery in demanding environments across a wide range of mission needs
Strong proficiency in a general programming language like Python or Rust, with full stack capability across APIs, backend services, frontend interfaces, and orchestration layers
Demonstrated experience building AI native solutions, LLM applications, agentic workflows, RAG systems, or semantic/knowledge applications
Strong data engineering foundation with proficiency in database and ontology modeling, data modeling techniques, plus front-end awareness of how data structures shape user-facing functionality
Experience developing reliable data ingestion pipelines that gracefully exit, detect and mitigate schema evolution and integrate structured and unstructured data reliably
Must be a U.S. Citizen and ability to obtain a federal security clearance

Nice To Haves

Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Applied Sciences or a related technical field
Deep familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and modern tech infrastructure patterns
Experience integrating/deploying solutions within constrained or legacy environments
Demonstrated ability to take concepts from zero to production ready systems independently
Working knowledge of platforms from frontier labs (Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Azure OpenAI, Claude, etc.)
Relevant Google, Anthropic, or OpenAI certifications or training courses
Ability to travel (up to 100%) depending on business need and client requirements
Active federal security clearance

Responsibilities

Lead and Drive Mission Embedded Build Teams
Serve as the technical lead working within federal client teams, guiding engineering decisions in fast, complex conditions (e.g., autonomous AI at the edge)
Architect, build, and deploy rapid prototypes using frontier AI tools and frameworks
Translate complex, ambiguous mission problems into actionable technical roadmaps and implementable designs to build production-grade systems.
Support integration of AI-native solutions into diverse client environments, including legacy platforms, regulated data ecosystems, and classified environments
Operate across the tech stack, frontend, backend, APIs, orchestration layers, data pipelines, with autonomy and engineering depth
Drive development of applications and workflows that interact with structured and unstructured enterprise data at scale
Lead AI Native Engineering Practices
Leverage advanced GenAI tooling, agentic frameworks, and autonomous workflows as core components of daily engineering delivery
Design and implement sophisticated GenAI solutions such as RAG architectures, semantic search systems, and agentic orchestration
Evaluate model performance, improve generations and pipelines, and uphold responsible AI practices in mission critical settings
Drive fast experimentation cycles, ensuring close operator feedback loops and rapid iteration
Delivery Excellence, Leadership, and Collaboration
Set engineering direction for sprint cycles, mission outcomes, and client facing delivery expectations
Work on a team of FDEs on architecture, debugging patterns, quality engineering, and deployment best practices
Coordinate reach back to broader AFS resources to leverage the deep expertise across the firm on our client’s hardest problems.
Contribute to and refine APX reusable assets, accelerators, templates, and mission deployment playbooks
Surface mission feedback, field intelligence, friction points, and integration challenges to APX leadership to strengthen future delivery strategies
Serve as a technical representative in client working sessions, ensuring clarity, trust, and precise communication