Principal Forward Deployed Engineer

UiPath•Bellevue, WA

23h

About The Position

As a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer, you will define technical strategy across major customer engagements and lead lighthouse implementations with strategic customers. You'll establish standards for FDE teams, influence product direction through field insights and co-innovation, and serve as a trusted technical advisor to both customers and internal stakeholders. This role uniquely combines deep technical expertise in AI and automation with strategic customer engagement and organizational leadership. Unlike traditional software engineers who build products for many customers, Principal FDEs enable transformative capabilities for strategic customers while shaping how the entire FDE organization delivers agentic automation solutions. You'll work directly in customer environments while simultaneously establishing technical standards and best practices that scale across the organization.

Requirements

8+ years of software engineering experience with demonstrated expertise in enterprise software delivery and customer-facing technical roles
Deep expertise in LLM systems, including prompt engineering, evaluation techniques, and production deployment of agentic workflows
Strong proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript with experience building production-grade AI applications
Proven track record of defining technical strategy and delivering complex, multi-system integrations that drive measurable business outcomes
Experience leading lighthouse implementations or strategic technical initiatives with enterprise customers
Demonstrated ability to influence product direction through field insights and co-innovation with product teams
Excellence in technical communication with both technical and executive audiences, including experience presenting at conferences or industry forums
Track record of mentoring senior engineers and establishing technical standards across teams
Willingness to travel to customer sites (up to 30-40%) and work directly in customer environments

Nice To Haves

Experience with enterprise automation platforms (UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, or similar)
Background in machine learning, including experience with custom ML models, document understanding, or AI Center deployments
Familiarity with multiple LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, etc.) and understanding of model tradeoffs
Experience with orchestration platforms, workflow engines, and integration architectures
Track record of contributing to open source projects or publishing technical content
Prior consulting or professional services experience in enterprise software

Responsibilities

Define technical strategy for AI system design, multi-agent orchestration, and enterprise deployment across major customer engagements, including lighthouse implementations with strategic customers
Partner with UiPath Product and Engineering teams to co-innovate and shape the roadmap for agentic automation based on field insights and customer needs
Develop reference architectures for scalable, reusable AI deployments that become standards across FDE teams and customer implementations
Lead governance and best-practice standardization for agent engineering, prompt management, and LLM operations across FDE teams
Evaluate emerging AI technologies and frameworks, determining applicability and integration strategies for UiPath's platform
Create strategies to optimize solution performance, reduce hosting costs, and enhance security posture across customer environments
Define and enforce best practices for AI system delivery, agent reliability, and production operations across FDE teams
Lead lighthouse implementations with strategic customers, demonstrating new capabilities and delivery approaches
Lead cross-functional initiatives spanning multiple teams to improve scalability, quality, and delivery consistency
Generate new technical and product ideas through co-innovation, synthesizing customer insights, field patterns, and industry trends
Represent UiPath's technical practices and agent engineering expertise at conferences, customer briefings, and industry forums
Establish mechanisms for capturing and disseminating field learnings that accelerate the FDE organization
Define customer technology strategy across major engagements, ensuring alignment with business transformation objectives and measurable outcomes
Lead lighthouse implementations with strategic customers, demonstrating new agentic capabilities and establishing replicable patterns for the FDE organization
Influence UiPath product direction through co-innovation, translating aggregated field insights into roadmap recommendations
Build executive-level relationships with strategic customers, advising on AI and automation strategy
Establish frameworks for quantifying and communicating business impact across customer engagements
Work with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Customer Success) to address systemic customer needs and competitive gaps
Lead cross-functional collaboration across regions and technical domains, coordinating with strategic customers on lighthouse implementations
Connect field operations with Product Engineering, ensuring field insights inform product direction and co-innovation
Resolve complex conflicts constructively, prioritizing UiPath's goals and customer outcomes
Mentor Senior FDEs and emerging technical leaders in architectural thinking and customer engagement
Facilitate discussions on technical standards and strategies across FDE teams, ensuring organizational alignment
Provide feedback to leadership and proactively address challenges outside your direct responsibility