Sr forward deployment engineer

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Job Overview

The Senior Engineer, Forward Deployment is an experienced technical practitioner who embeds within a T-Mobile business unit and operates with significantly greater autonomy than an Engineer FDE. Senior FDEs are the primary execution force: they drive the technical agenda for net-new agentic AI delivery, mentor Engineers co-deployed alongside them, and step in as acting domain lead when needed.

This role bridges deep hands-on engineering with emerging leadership accountability. Performance is measured by validated return on investment outcomes for the domain and by the quality and impact of the delivery team supported. This role reports to the Manager or Senior Manager, Forward Deployment Engineer within the assigned domain.

We pride ourselves on fostering a culture of innovation, advocating for agile methodologies, and promoting transparency in all that we do. Join us in embodying the spirit of the 'Un-carrier' and make a tangible impact! If you're up to the challenge, apply today!

Job Responsibilities:

• Technical Domain Leadership: Drive the technical agenda for net-new agentic AI delivery within the assigned business domain. Lead scoping and diagnostic sessions with BU stakeholders and TPMs to define requirements, map workflows, and assess data and integration readiness. Maintain trusted working relationships with BU managers and communicate delivery progress and milestones to domain stakeholders.
• Agentic System Delivery & Iteration: Design and deliver net-new agentic AI solutions in live production environments. Implement system integrations, RAG pipelines, prompt orchestration layers, and multi-agent workflows tailored to BU-specific needs. Run controlled A/B experiments and document measured return on investment impact.
• System Integration & Data Engineering: Build integration layers connecting AI solutions to BU tools and data sources. Normalize BU-specific datasets for AI system consumption. Identify and close data quality gaps and feed domain-specific insights back to the practice through structured engineering handoffs.
• FDE Team Mentoring: Mentor and technically guide Engineers co-deployed in the same domain. Provide code review, solution iteration feedback, and coaching on delivery standards. Support onboarding of new FDEs rotating into the domain and contribute to FDE practice methodology.
• Practice Reporting & Contribution: Contribute to practice reporting cycles that support TPM-defined requirements and delivery planning. Document failure modes, edge cases, and performance gaps in a structured format. Participate in rotation planning and knowledge transfer sessions.

Owns and leads scoping sessions independently. Drives the technical agenda for the full domain. Communicates directly with BU managers and middle management on delivery progress and milestone accountability. Owns end-to-end solution architecture and delivery. Makes independent design decisions across the full agentic stack. Defines the framework and is accountable for measured return on investment outcomes. Designs the integration architecture. Defines reusable patterns for the domain. Leads the structured engineering handoff to the practice and makes final calls on data quality remediation approach. Owns domain-level reporting narrative. Synthesizes Engineer inputs into practice-level insights. Authors domain case studies and contributes to FDE playbook development.

Education and Work Experience:

Bachelor's Degree Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, or related technical field. Relevant equivalent experience accepted. (Required)

4-7+ years production engineering experience with demonstrated hands-on LLM deployment: prompt engineering, RAG architecture, agent orchestration. Validated ability to operate autonomously in ambiguous environments and deliver measurable AI outcomes. Experience building system integrations with enterprise data sources. (Required)

7-10+ years prior experience in solutions engineering, embedded technical, or forward deployment role. Track record of delivering AI solutions that measurably improved a business outcome metric. Experience navigating stakeholder environments from BU operators to middle management. (Preferred)

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Python Engineering: Strong production Python; proficiency in at least one additional language (Go, TypeScript, or Java). Architects robust agentic system components and writes code others can extend.
• LLM System Design: Demonstrated hands-on experience deploying LLM-based systems: prompt engineering, RAG architecture, agent orchestration, hallucination mitigation, and performance benchmarking.
• Data Engineering & Integration: Proficiency in complex SQL, ETL/ELT pipeline design, and experience building system integrations connecting AI solutions to enterprise and telecom data sources.
• Cloud-Native Deployment: Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and infrastructure experience on AWS (primary) or Azure/GCP; able to instrument deployed systems with real-time logging and feedback collection.
• Technical Leadership Without Authority: Proven ability to lead technical delivery and mentor engineers in ambiguous environments; adapts communication to BU partners and leadership alike.
• Responsible AI & Data Security: Applies data privacy, security, and responsible AI principles in all system design and deployment decisions. Builds guardrails and compliance considerations into agentic solutions. Understands T-Mobile's data classification standards and handles sensitive data appropriately.
• Forward Deployment Mentality: Demonstrated ability to embed within a business unit, earn partner trust rapidly, and deliver working AI systems under real operational constraints, not in sandbox or lab environments.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity without heavy process scaffolding.
• Stakeholder Translation: Ability to move fluidly between technical implementation and business communication, converting engineering tradeoffs into plain-language impact narratives for BU managers, and converting vague business asks into precise engineering requirements.
• Technical Leadership: Proven ability to lead technical delivery and mentor engineers in ambiguous environments; adapts communication to BU stakeholders and leadership alike.
• Rapid Prototyping & Production Readiness: Experience compressing the gap between proof-of-concept and production-grade delivery. Knows when a prototype is good enough to ship and how to harden it without full re-architecture.

At least 18 years of age. Legally authorized to work in the United States.

Travel:

Travel Required (Yes/No): Yes

DOT Regulated:

DOT Regulated Position (Yes/No): No
Safety Sensitive Position (Yes/No): No

Total Target Cash Earnings Opportunity:

$163,645 - $295,205

National Base Pay Range: $142,300 - $256,700

The Total Target Cash Earnings Opportunity represents the expected total cash compensation for this role at target performance, combining base salary and annual incentive opportunity. Actual earnings may be higher or lower depending on individual performance and overall company results. The base pay range reflects the compensation component of this opportunity. The candidate’s actual pay will be based on various factors, such as work location, qualifications, and experience, so the actual starting pay will vary within this range. To find the pay range for this role based on hiring location, click here.

At T-Mobile, employees in regular, non-temporary roles are eligible for an annual bonus or periodic sales incentive or bonus, based on their role. Corporate employees are eligible for a year-end bonus based on individual and/or company performance and which is set at a percentage of the employee’s eligible earnings in the prior year. Certain positions in Customer Care are eligible for monthly bonuses based on individual and/or team performance. The incentive component included in the Total Target Cash Earnings Opportunity reflects target performance. Actual earnings included in the Total Target Cash Earnings Opportunity reflect target performance; actual payouts may vary.

At T-Mobile, our benefits exemplify the spirit of One Team, Together! A big part of how we care for one another is working to ensure our benefits evolve to meet the needs of our team members. Full and part-time employees have access to the same benefits when eligible. We cover all of the bases, offering medical, dental and vision insurance, a flexible spending account, 401(k), employee stock grants, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off and up to 12 paid holidays - which total about 4 weeks for new full-time employees and about 2.5 weeks for new part-time employees annually - paid parental and family leave, family building benefits, back-up care, enhanced family support, childcare subsidy, tuition assistance, college coaching, short- and long-term disability, voluntary AD&D coverage, voluntary accident coverage, voluntary life insurance, voluntary disability insurance, and voluntary long-term care insurance. We don't stop there - eligible employees can also receive mobile service & home internet discounts, pet insurance, and access to commuter and transit programs! To learn about T-Mobile’s amazing benefits, check out www.t-mobilebenefits.com.

Never stop growing! As part of the T-Mobile team, you know the Un-carrier doesn’t have a corporate ladder–it’s more like a jungle gym of possibilities! We love helping our employees grow in their careers, because it’s that shared drive to aim high that drives our business and our culture forward. By applying for this career opportunity, you’re living our values while investing in your career growth–and we applaud it. You’re unstoppable!

T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All decisions concerning the employment relationship will be made without regard to age, race, ethnicity, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, religious affiliation, marital status, citizenship status, veteran status, the presence of any physical or mental disability, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Discrimination, retaliation or harassment based upon any of these factors is wholly inconsistent with how we do business and will not be tolerated.

Talent comes in all forms at the Un-carrier. If you are an individual with a disability and need reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know by emailing ApplicantAccommodation@t-mobile.com or calling 1-844-873-9500. Please note, this contact channel is not a means to apply for or inquire about a position and we are unable to respond to non-accommodation related requests.