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# Forward Deployed AI Engineer

- **Company:** Stott and May
- **Location:** London, UK
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Artificial Intelligence, Business Software, Software Debugging, Python (Programming Language), Performance Tuning, Software Engineering, Deployment Automation, Operational Systems, Data Management, Virtual Agents, Automation Anywhere
- **Published:** July 28, 2026
- **Apply:** https://find.stottandmay.com/job/forward-deployed-ai-engineer-uk-founding-hire-76782/apply

## About the Role

* 7+ years of hands-on software/AI engineering experience (Python preferred)
 * Strong foundation in system design, debugging, testing, and performance optimization.
 * Proven experience building AI-driven applications - not just using APIs, but composing prompts, models, agents, and evaluation mechanisms into operational systems.
 * Comfortable working in dynamic customer-facing environments and communicating clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
 * Naturally curious about AI and proactive in experimenting with new tools and techniques.
 * Willingness to travel occasionally (25-50%).

## Description

As a Forward Deployed AI Engineer, you'll work directly with enterprise customers to build, operate, and continuously improve production-grade GenAI systems. This is a hands-on, impact-driven role where you'll design and iterate on end-to-end solutions that blend models, agents, data, and evaluation frameworks into reliable, scalable deployments.

As the first UK hire, you'll build alongside a world-class engineering and research team deploying frontier AI capabilities and will be enabled to shape the foundation of their UK function and engineering culture; whilst working on systems that move beyond prototypes.

What You'll Do

 * Design and implement compound AI workflows that combine models, retrieval, evaluation, and execution into cohesive production systems.
 * Operate on live AI deployments: monitor behaviour, identify failure modes, and iterate continuously to improve performance and reliability.
 * Integrate systems into real customer environments; from data platforms and APIs to business applications.
 * Collaborate directly with enterprise teams, often in high-visibility projects, explaining technical trade-offs and outcomes with clarity.
 * Take ownership of real-world outcomes, ensuring AI systems deliver measurable business value and adapt as client needs evolve.


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