Principal, Forward Deployed Engineer

Description

The company is a global biopharma business with a 2031 goal of £40 billion in annual sales, built on early intervention to prevent and change the course of disease. Its portfolio covers vaccines, specialty medicines and general medicines, and its work centres on scientific and technical excellence in launching new treatments.

The Enterprise AI team builds AI solutions that are proven quickly and then scaled to production. This role leads the Forward Deployed Engineering function, the first stage of the delivery pipeline, where AI ideas are tested with the business through PoCs, PoVs, MVPs and, where suitable, first production versions. Proven solutions then pass to Solutions Engineering for scale-up. The model follows AI-native companies such as Anthropic, Palantir and OpenAI.

You will manage the FDE team directly, which includes Staff, Lead, Senior and Forward Deployed Engineers. You will set the function's strategy and engagement priorities, hold relationships with Director-level business unit sponsors, and represent Enterprise AI on FDE matters to the company leadership. You will also keep coding hands-on at the edge of AI-augmented engineering, where people direct and agents carry out the work. The team needs engineers who can get inside business problems, show value quickly and hand off cleanly, and you will build and lead that function.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategy, structure, hiring, development and standards for the FDE function.
• Recruit, coach and grow the FDE team, with development paths from G8 to G5.
• Define standards for AI-native engineering within the function, covering agent workflows, prompt and pattern libraries, and clean handoffs.
• Manage relationships with Director and Senior Director-level business unit sponsors who bring AI use cases to Enterprise AI.
• Personally lead the most strategic FDE engagements, particularly those that will set precedent for the function.
• Decide, and justify, at portfolio level which FDE engagements to stop or continue, working with business unit and Enterprise AI leaders.
• Work with the Solutions Engineering and Operations Engineering functions on the delivery pipeline, and represent FDE in Enterprise AI leadership forums.
• Shape vendor strategy and tooling choices for AI-native engineering within Enterprise AI.
• Make sure the FDE function works within Code Orange, Responsible AI and Accountability Report governance from the prototype stage onward.
• Report regularly to Enterprise AI leadership on FDE performance, including pipeline, outcomes, team development and capacity.

Requirements

• A PhD or master's degree in computer science or software engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12 or more years in software engineering and AI/ML engineering, including substantial time leading senior engineering teams or functions.
• A record of taking AI ideas from sketch to working software quickly, in customer-facing engineering roles.
• Deep technical knowledge of GenAI patterns, including agents, multi-agent orchestration, RAG and evaluation.
• Daily use of AI coding agents such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot or Databricks AI Assistant as your main way of developing.
• Experience hiring, mentoring and developing senior engineers.
• A track record of representing engineering functions to senior business stakeholders.
• Hands-on experience with Openclaw or Hermes agents.
• Preferred, and a plus rather than required: prior leadership at an AI-native company such as Anthropic, Palantir or OpenAI, or an equivalent role such as Head of Forward Deployed Engineering or Director of Solutions.
• Preferred, and a plus rather than required: experience in regulated industries such as pharma, healthcare or financial services.
• Preferred, and a plus rather than required: experience setting AI engineering standards across an organisation.
• Preferred, and a plus rather than required: clinical development experience.
• Preferred, and a plus rather than required: the company-LI.
• Skills listed: A/B testing, AI workflow integration, algorithms, back-end development, computer programming, database management, data collection methods, data security, DevOps, front-end development, model evaluation, performance optimisation, scalable architectures, software design, and user experience (UX) design.

Conditions

The role follows an agile working culture, and you can discuss flexibility with the hiring team.

Adjustment requests for the application process go to the company's site, where a call can also be requested. Other enquiries cannot be handled through that address; a Recruitment FAQ guide is available instead.

The company does not accept referrals from employment businesses or agencies without prior written authorisation from its commercial and procurement or HR department. Without that authorisation, the company is not liable for any fees.

US licensed healthcare professionals may have expenses the company incurs on their behalf during an interview captured and reported under US Transparency requirements, as described on the CMS Open Payments site.

The company is committed to an environment where people can thrive.