Forward Deployment Engineer

At T-Mobile, we invest in YOU!  Our Total Rewards Package ensures that employees get the same big love we give our customers.  All team members receive a competitive base salary and compensation package - this is Total Rewards. Employees enjoy multiple wealth-building opportunities through our annual stock grant, employee stock purchase plan, 401(k), and access to free, year-round money coaches. That’s how we’re UNSTOPPABLE for our employees!

Are you ready to join the Un-carrier movement?

The Engineer, Forward Deployment is a hands-on technical practitioner who embeds within a T-Mobile business unit to design, build, and iterate on net-new agentic AI solutions. These solutions are developed against requirements defined and scoped by TPMs and business unit stakeholders. Forward Deployment Engineers (FDEs) write code, run experiments, debug production systems, and work closely with business unit stakeholder teams to deliver AI solutions that achieve stated business outcomes.

FDEs typically work alongside a Senior FDE who owns the domain relationship and sets technical direction. The Engineer is responsible for the execution layer: building system integrations, tuning prompts, running A/B cohorts, and delivering against validated ROI targets for the domain. Performance is measured by contribution to validated return on investment outcomes for each domain assignment — not by activity or ticket volume. This role reports to the Manager or Senior Manager, Forward Deployment Engineer within the assigned pod.

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:

• AI System Deployment & Tuning: Implement, configure, and iteratively tune net-new agentic AI solutions deployed in the assigned business domain, working against requirements defined and delivered by TPMs. Adapt solution behavior, prompt layers, and escalation logic based on live operational feedback on a weekly cycle.
• A/B Experimentation & ROI Validation: Run controlled A/B experiments in live production cohorts and document measured impact on validated return on investment targets for the domain. Feed results back to the FDE team and practice leadership with structured analysis to inform delivery prioritization.
• BU Partnership & Workflow Engagement: Work directly alongside BU teams in the assigned domain across care, retail, finance, supply chain, or other operational contexts. Observe real workflows, identify friction that AI solutions can address, and conduct structured feedback sessions with BU managers and end users.
• Data Engineering & System Integrations: Build system integrations connecting AI solutions to BU data sources such as CRM, billing, ticketing, and ERP platforms. Prepare and normalize business-unit-specific data for AI system consumption. Build lightweight ETL pipelines feeding operational data into evaluation loops and monitoring dashboards. Identify and escalate data quality gaps with specific documentation.
• Practice Reporting & Requirements Support: Contribute to reporting cycles that support the TPM-defined requirements pipeline. Document system performance, failure modes, and gaps in a structured format that supports domain planning and delivery prioritization. Participate in practice reviews to share domain learnings.
• Contributes structured documentation: failure modes, edge cases, performance gaps, and develops them into practice reporting cycles.
• Participates in rotation planning and knowledge transfer sessions.
• Contributes to peer knowledge sharing
• Supports onboarding of rotating FDEs at the IC level.
• Implements integrations and data normalization pipelines for assigned BU data sources. Flags data quality issues and raises to Sr. FDE or TPM.
• Builds and iterates on assigned components of agentic systems, individual agents, RAG pipelines, prompt layers, while under architectural direction.
• Delivers A/B experiments and documents results.

Education and Work Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, or related technical field. Relevant equivalent experience accepted. (Required)
• 2-4+ years hands-on software or ML engineering experience in production environments. Demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable Python code and to debug and extend existing codebases. Experience deploying to cloud environments and building system integrations with enterprise data sources. (Required)
• 4-7+ years prior experience in a customer-facing, operations, or embedded technical role (care, retail, finance, supply chain). Exposure to enterprise AI platforms such as Salesforce Einstein, ServiceNow AI, or Microsoft Copilot. (Preferred)

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Python Engineering: Python proficiency in production settings: clean, maintainable code; able to read, debug, and extend existing agentic system code written by others.
• LLM Integration: Working knowledge of LLM integration patterns: prompt engineering, RAG basics, function calling; experience with at least one major LLM provider.
• Data Engineering & System Integrations: SQL proficiency; experience building system integrations connecting AI solutions to enterprise data sources (CRM, ticketing, ERP, billing); able to build lightweight ETL/ELT pipelines and instrument systems with basic logging.
• Cloud & DevOps Literacy: Comfortable deploying to AWS or Azure, using Docker, and reading CI/CD pipelines.
• Operational Bias to Action: Ships iterative improvements in days, not weeks; able to communicate technical trade-offs clearly to non-technical partners.
• Data Security & Responsible AI: Solid understanding of data privacy requirements in enterprise environments including PII and customer data protection. Applies responsible AI principles and appropriate data handling practices when building system integrations and AI solutions.
• Forward Deployment Mentality: Demonstrated ability to embed within a business unit, earn stakeholder trust rapidly, and deliver working AI systems under real operational constraints, not in sandbox or lab environments.
• 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.
• Rapid Prototyping & Production Readiness: Experience compressing the gap between proof-of-concept and production-grade delivery.

• 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: $135,470 - $244,375National Base Pay Range: $117,800 - $212,500

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, https://paylookup.t-mobile.com/paylookup?reqID=REQ379019&paradox=1

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 [email protected] 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.