Forward Deployed Software Engineer (Recent Graduate) - Chicago

CrossCountry Consulting•Chicago, IL

About The Position

As a Forward Deployed Engineer on the Data and AI Solutions team, you will partner with customers to understand complex challenges and design and implement tailored solutions. You will use problem-solving ability, creativity, and technical expertise to help organizations put their data to work, address critical business challenges, and create meaningful impact. You will own high-impact projects from concept through implementation, working in small teams across industries on real-world problems. The work may include designing technical architecture, working with large-scale datasets, developing custom applications, collaborating with customer executives, and contributing to team strategy. The role involves working directly with clients, often on site, and collaborating internally with colleagues across engineering, product, and strategy teams. Travel to client sites is expected as needed, estimated at 25–50%, with requirements varying by team and location.

Requirements

Recent graduate with up to 1 year of professional experience in an engineering or technical role.
Engineering background, preferably in Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Physics, or Data Science.
Proficiency in one or more programming languages, such as Python, Java, C++, TypeScript, or JavaScript.
Ability to learn continuously, work independently, and make decisions with minimal direction.
Ability to collaborate with technical and non-technical team members and adapt to an evolving environment with dynamic objectives and iterative work with users.
Interest in creatively solving technical problems using data structures, storage systems, cloud infrastructure, front-end frameworks, and other technical tools.
Interest in using large-scale data to solve valuable business problems.
Willingness and interest to travel to client sites as needed; estimated travel is 25–50%, varying by team and location.

Responsibilities

Work directly with clients to understand their pressing problems and design and implement data-driven solutions.
Own high-impact projects from planning through implementation, working in small teams with minimal supervision.
Discuss technical architecture with fellow engineers and establish team strategy.
Wrangle large-scale data and build custom web applications to deliver client solutions.
Speak with client executives to share progress, gather input, and align on priorities.
Collaborate with colleagues across FDE, product, and strategy teams.
Work with clients, often on site, to understand and address their priorities.