Forward Deployment Engineer

Position Description:

At CGI, we’re building a Forward Deployed Engineering practice to turn complex customer challenges into working technology and measurable outcomes faster. As a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer, you’ll work directly with customers to uncover the problems that matter, shape the right response and remain hands-on as ideas move from concept to production. Spanning software, AI, data, cloud and platforms, you’ll have ownership of meaningful engineering challenges and the freedom to experiment intelligently, balancing innovation with security, governance and human judgement. Embedded within collaborative delivery pods, you’ll work alongside specialists who share expertise and support your growth, while helping CGI establish reusable approaches and a new engineering capability that strengthens how we deliver technology-led transformation. CGI was recognised in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work List 2025 and has been named a UK ‘Best Employer’ by the Financial Times. We offer a competitive salary, excellent pension, private healthcare, plus a share scheme (3.5% + 3.5% matching) which makes you a CGI Partner not just an employee. We are committed to inclusivity, building a genuinely diverse community of tech talent and inspiring everyone to pursue careers in our sector, including our Armed Forces, and are proud to hold a Gold Award in recognition of our support of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant. Join us and you’ll be part of an open, friendly community of experts. We’ll train and support you in taking your career wherever you want it to go. Due to the secure nature of the programme, you will need to hold UK Security Clearance or be eligible to go through this clearance. This is a hybrid position.

Your future duties and responsibilities:

In this role, you will work at the intersection of customer discovery and hands-on engineering. You’ll engage directly with users, sponsors and delivery teams to understand operational challenges, turn ambiguity into clear engineering hypotheses and prioritise opportunities according to business value. You’ll then take ownership of shaping, building, testing and improving solutions, staying close to the technology and its real-world impact rather than operating solely as an advisor. As part of a multidisciplinary customer-facing pod, you’ll combine engineering, architecture, DevSecOps and product thinking to move rapidly from problem discovery to measurable outcomes. You’ll explore how AI can improve services and productivity while applying sound judgement around security, data, governance and human oversight. Supported by specialists across CGI, you’ll share what you learn, coach colleagues and help establish reusable approaches that strengthen our emerging Forward Deployed Engineering practice.

• Discover & Define: Work with customers to uncover operational problems, desired outcomes, constraints and risks before selecting technology solutions.

• Build & Deliver: Design, develop, test and improve digital services, prototypes, integrations and accelerators across software, AI, data, cloud and platform technologies.

• Experiment & Innovate: Rapidly test engineering hypotheses and turn promising concepts into practical solutions with measurable value.

• Apply & Govern AI: Identify appropriate AI opportunities while addressing model limitations, data quality, security, governance and human oversight.

• Shape & Prioritise: Translate ambiguous requirements into use cases and delivery backlogs focused on customer outcomes rather than technology novelty.

• Engage & Influence: Lead workshops, demonstrations, playbacks and decision forums, communicating technical trade-offs clearly to customer and CGI stakeholders.

• Collaborate & Lead: Work within multidisciplinary delivery pods and take ownership of work packages or smaller delivery threads.

• Assure & Protect: Apply pragmatic engineering, security and assurance practices to create resilient, responsible and traceable solutions.

• Coach & Share: Pair with colleagues, provide constructive reviews and feedback, and turn delivery learning into reusable patterns.

• Build & Evolve: Help establish CGI’s Forward Deployed Engineering capability by contributing ideas, methods and engineering practices that can scale across customers.

Required qualifications to be successful in this role:

You’ll bring strong hands-on engineering credibility combined with the communication and judgement needed to work directly with customers in complex, ambiguous environments. We’re interested in adjacent experience and learning agility rather than expecting every candidate to arrive with a traditional Forward Deployed Engineer background. You’ll be supported in developing across disciplines while bringing the curiosity, ownership and technical capability to turn customer problems into working solutions.

• Strong hands-on engineering experience, with evidence of designing and shipping modern digital solutions in complex environments.

• Technical breadth across software engineering, AI, data, cloud, platforms, solution architecture or DevSecOps, combined with deeper expertise in one or more areas.

• Experience working directly with customers or users to understand problems and translate them into practical technology solutions.

• Strong problem discovery and structured problem-solving skills, including the ability to operate effectively with ambiguity.

• Experience applying AI or AI-enabled technologies, with an understanding of their opportunities, limitations and responsible use.

• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical decisions and trade-offs clearly.

• Product and outcome-oriented thinking, with a focus on adoption, measurable value and solving the right customer problem.

• Good understanding of secure engineering, governance and assurance within modern technology delivery.

• Proven ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams, bringing together engineering, architecture, product and delivery perspectives.

• Strong learning agility and technical curiosity, with the ability to develop expertise quickly as customer challenges evolve.

• Ability to coach and support colleagues, share knowledge and contribute reusable approaches to an emerging practice.

• Commercial awareness, with an understanding of how engineering decisions influence customer value, delivery outcomes and value for money. #LI-TC1

Skills:

• AI Governance

• Communication

• Consulting process

• Governance

• Leadership

• Mentoring and coaching

• Problem Solving

• Stakeholder management

What you can expect from us:

Together, as owners, let’s turn meaningful insights into action.

Life at CGI is rooted in ownership, teamwork, respect and belonging. Here, you’ll reach your full potential because…

You are invited to be an owner from day 1 as we work together to bring our Dream to life. That’s why we call ourselves CGI Partners rather than employees. We benefit from our collective success and actively shape our company’s strategy and direction.

Your work creates value. You’ll develop innovative solutions and build relationships with teammates and clients while accessing global capabilities to scale your ideas, embrace new opportunities, and benefit from expansive industry and technology expertise.

You’ll shape your career by joining a company built to grow and last. You’ll be supported by leaders who care about your health and well-being and provide you with opportunities to deepen your skills and broaden your horizons.

That same commitment to fairness extends to how we use technology. To support our recruitment team, AI tools may be used to help assess applications though they never replace human judgement. All hiring decisions remain entirely in the hands of our recruitment professionals.

Come join our team—one of the largest IT and business consulting services firms in the world.