AI SDLC Forward Deployed Engineer – Associate Manager

AI SDLC Forward Deployed Engineer – Associate Manager

Full-Time 63000 - 77000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
Accenture UK & Ireland

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Build and ship AI applications, ensuring performance and reliability in client systems.
  • Company: Join Accenture, a global leader in professional services with a culture of innovation.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, diverse work environment, and opportunities for personal growth.
  • Other info: Collaborative team atmosphere with strong career advancement potential.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact by deploying cutting-edge AI solutions in enterprise settings.
  • Qualifications: 4-6 years in technical roles, experience with AI and software development.

The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.

Who We Are

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. With our thought leadership and culture of innovation, we apply industry expertise, diverse skill sets and next-generation technology to each business challenge.

We believe in inclusion and diversity and supporting the whole person. Our core values comprise of Stewardship, Best People, Client Value Creation, One Global Network, Respect for the Individual and Integrity. Year after year, Accenture is recognized worldwide not just for business performance but for inclusion and diversity too.

“Across the globe, one thing is universally true of the people of Accenture: We care deeply about what we do and the impact we have with our clients and with the communities in which we work and live. It is personal to all of us.” – Julie Sweet, Accenture CEO

The Role

We are growing our Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) capability to meet our clients' need and demand for hands-on, outcome-oriented AI delivery from PoV to Production. If you are energised by building real things with real clients and by the responsibility that comes with using AI in the reinvented SDLC at enterprise scale, this is the role for you.

As an FDE at the Associate Manager level, you will act as a hands-on technical contributor and partner to Accenture's most strategic accounts. You will embed within client organisations to design, build, and ship advanced product, both traditional and agentic, moving beyond advisory work to own delivery outcomes end-to-end across both proof-of-value and production products and platforms.

You will be an early member of our Industry & Enterprise FDE capability, working alongside senior FDEs to help shape the model, learn and apply repeatable patterns, and contribute to raising the bar for what enterprise AI deployment looks like in practice.

What You'll Do

  • Deliver production-quality work – Build and ship applications inside client systems, using AI SDLC workflows and processes ensuring solutions meet enterprise requirements for performance, security, and reliability.
  • Develop technical assets – Create reusable, production-ready artefacts or tools including MCP servers, sub-agents, agent orchestration frameworks, and evaluation tooling that can be deployed across client workflows.
  • Support enterprise deployments – Play a key technical role in rollouts of frontier AI capabilities, in particular AI in the SDLC processes, ensuring smooth integration with existing IT infrastructure, workflows applications.
  • Accelerate adoption – Work shoulder-to-shoulder with client engineering and product teams to drive meaningful AI adoption, removing blockers and closing skill gaps in real time. This will include upskilling people at Accenture and our clients with AI centric engineering.
  • Identify patterns and scale – Recognise repeatable deployment patterns across engagements and contribute those insights back to Accenture's I&E FDE practice and our model provider partners to continuously improve our delivery playbook.
  • Maintain cutting-edge expertise – Stay ahead of the curve on LLM capabilities, with a focus on the SDLC, agentic frameworks, evaluation methodologies, and the AI product development ecosystem. Potentially helping to define the learning path for others as the area grows.
  • Build strong relationships – Develop trusted working relationships with client teams and AI ecosystem partners, proactively contributing to new opportunities for AI value creation throughout the engagement lifecycle.
  • Represent Accenture in the field – Champion responsible, safe AI usage and uphold Accenture's standards in every client interaction.

Experience

What We're Looking For

  • 4–6 years of experience in a technical engineering role with client-facing or consulting exposure — Software Engineer, Solutions Engineer, technical consultant, or equivalent.
  • Experience delivering production applications with real business impact, ideally in enterprise environments.
  • Practical experience working with large language models (ideally in a enterprise or start-up setting): prompt engineering, loop engineering, skill creation, agent development and use, evaluation frameworks, workflows, and deployment.

Technical Skills

  • Solid programming proficiency (we are open to any experience but primary languages include: TypeScript and the JavaScript ecosystem, Python and Java). However, flexibility with languages and tools is important with our clients wanting to move to tech stacks including Go, Rust etc. A willingness to go deep into unfamiliar tech stacks is preferred.
  • Hands-on experience building and deploying with AI agents and workflows.
  • Working familiarity with enterprise IT architecture, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and system integration patterns.

Consulting & Client Skills

  • High agency; comfortable navigating ambiguity, working across complex organisations, and contributing without a well-defined playbook.
  • Strong communication skills; able to participate in technical discovery, support stakeholder alignment, and translate AI concepts for non-technical audiences.
  • Collaborative mindset with the ability to balance competing priorities while maintaining integrity and a team-first approach.

Preferred

  • Domain exposure in media, or another enterprise vertical.
  • Familiarity with AI safety, responsible AI frameworks, or enterprise AI governance.
  • Familiarity with AI deployment infrastructure and MLOps tooling.

AI SDLC Forward Deployed Engineer – Associate Manager employer: Accenture UK & Ireland

As an AI Transformation & Process Excellence Senior Manager, you will thrive in a dynamic work culture that prioritises innovation and collaboration. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through tailored coaching and development opportunities, ensuring you can lead your team effectively while embedding cutting-edge AI methodologies into client solutions. Located in a vibrant area, we offer unique advantages such as access to industry-leading technology partners and a supportive environment that fosters meaningful contributions to transformative projects.

Accenture UK & Ireland

Contact Details:

Accenture UK & Ireland Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land AI SDLC Forward Deployed Engineer – Associate Manager

Join Local Tech Meetups

Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Accenture UK & Ireland or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!

Contribute to Open Source Projects

Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Accenture UK & Ireland.

Tap into Online Developer Communities

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We think you need these skills to ace AI SDLC Forward Deployed Engineer – Associate Manager

AI SDLC Workflows
Production Application Delivery
Large Language Models (LLMs)
Prompt Engineering
Technical Proficiency in TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, and Java
AI Agent Development
Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.

Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Accenture UK & Ireland.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Accenture UK & Ireland and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!

Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!

How to prepare for a job interview at Accenture UK & Ireland

Brush Up on Your Coding Skills

For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.

Know Your Tools and Frameworks

Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Accenture UK & Ireland uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.

Showcase Your Projects

Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.

Prepare for Behavioural Questions

While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.