Staff - Forward Deployed Engineer

GSK • Philadelphia, PA

2d

About The Position

GSK's Enterprise AI team builds AI solutions that demonstrate value quickly and scale to production. Forward Deployed Engineering is the front end of the delivery pipeline, proving business ideas through PoCs, PoVs, MVPs, and, when appropriate, initial production versions before handing proven solutions to Solutions Engineering for scale-up.

The role leads the Forward Deployed Engineering function, directly manages a flat-structured FDE team of Lead, Senior, and Forward Deployed Engineers, sets strategy and engagement priorities, manages Director-level business-unit sponsor relationships, and represents FDE to GSK leadership. It is a hands-on leadership position: the postholder contributes technically to the most strategic engagements while building a team that delivers quickly and develops toward greater seniority.

Requirements

• 12 or more years of experience in software engineering and AI/ML engineering, including significant experience leading senior engineering teams or functions.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Proven track record of taking AI ideas from sketch to working software quickly in customer-facing engineering roles.
• Strong technical depth in generative AI patterns, including agents, multi-agent orchestration, RAG, and evaluation.
• Recognized expertise across AI, ML, and data science, including classical ML, deep learning, LLMs and foundation models, statistical and causal inference, and MLOps at scale; able to evaluate and challenge modeling decisions across engagements.
• Demonstrated daily use of AI coding agents, such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or Databricks AI Assistant, as the primary mode of development, beyond vibe coding.
• Experience designing agentic delivery-automation workflows and delivery bot meshes and setting standards for their use across a team.
• Experience hiring, mentoring, and developing senior engineering talent and building an engineering function's structure, standards, culture, and ways of working.
• Track record of representing engineering functions to senior business stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• Prior leadership experience at an AI-native company such as Anthropic, Palantir, OpenAI, or similar, in a role such as Head of Forward Deployed Engineering, Director of Solutions, or equivalent.
• Master's degree in computer science or a related field.
• Experience in regulated industries such as pharma, healthcare, or financial services.
• Experience setting AI engineering standards at organizational level.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Forward Deployed Engineering function, owning its strategy, structure, hiring, development, and standards, and establish an engagement pipeline that delivers at pace.
• Hire, mentor, and develop the FDE team, creating development paths from G8 through G5 with clear milestones and active coaching.
• Establish and document AI-native engineering practices, including agentic delivery-automation workflows, delivery bot meshes, prompt and pattern libraries, and handoff hygiene.
• Set standards for AI, ML, and data science rigor, including evaluation standards, experimental design, and model validation; serve as the final technical authority on modeling approaches for strategic engagements.
• Own relationships with Director- and Senior Director-level business-unit sponsors, identifying AI use cases and supporting engagement through the delivery cycle as a credible partner.
• Personally lead the most strategic FDE engagements and remain hands-on in engagements that establish precedents for the function.
• Make and defend portfolio-level kill-or-continue decisions across engagements with business-unit and Enterprise AI leadership, connecting engineering possibilities to business outcomes.
• Track AI/ML research developments and translate them into practical guidance for the team.
• Coordinate with Solutions Engineering and Operations Engineering on the delivery pipeline, and represent FDE in Enterprise AI leadership forums.
• Influence vendor strategy and tooling choices for AI-native engineering practice within Enterprise AI.
• Build governance into the FDE function from the prototype stage, including Code Orange, Responsible AI, and Accountability Report governance.
• Report to Enterprise AI leadership on function performance, including engagement pipeline, outcomes, team development, and capacity.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior