Forward Deployed AI Engineer

Overview

Job Title: Forward Deployed AI EngineerLocation: Hybrid, Dallas/Las Colinas office (approximately 10% travel)Department: Information Technology, Data & AIReports To: Sr. Director, Data & AI

Job Overview

We are hiring a Forward Deployed AI Engineer to embed with Shermco business units, find where AI can change how work gets done, and build the solutions that prove it. You will spend real time with teams in field operations, estimating, sales, finance, HR, and other functions, learning how their work actually happens before deciding what to build.

This is a builder role, not an advisory one. You will move quickly from discovery to a working solution, put it in front of users, and iterate until it delivers measurable value. You take low-code and configuration solutions built on Copilot Studio, Power Platform, and Microsoft Fabric all the way to production, each with a named business owner. Work that needs extensive custom code or a complex agent goes to the AI Product Engineer. You will be judged on adoption and business outcomes, not on the number of demos produced.

The role sits on the Data & AI team and reports to the Sr. Director, Data & AI. You will work closely with the AI Product Engineer, who builds the solutions that need custom code or complex agents, and with data engineering, analytics, and governance colleagues who provide the platform, data, and controls your work depends on. In short, you find the problem, prove the value, and ship most solutions yourself; the AI Product Engineer takes on what needs custom engineering.

Your customers are internal Shermco teams. Success means business units seek you out because your work has made their jobs measurably easier.

Work Authorization Requirement: Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship. Shermco does not provide visa sponsorship for this position.

Responsibilities

Embedded Discovery

• Work with stakeholders at every level, from technicians and field crews to managers and directors to VPs and executive leadership, to understand day-to-day workflows, team needs, and larger organizational initiatives.
• Turn vague requests into scoped, written problem statements, and identify and size AI opportunities by the time, cost, risk, or revenue they could affect, and recommend where AI is not the right answer.
• Build trusted working relationships with business leaders and front-line users so the team hears about problems early.

Build and Delivery

• Build solutions quickly using Copilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft Fabric, Power Platform, Claude, Python, and other approved AI tools and models.
• Integrate with operational systems such as Salesforce, on-premises Business Central, Dayforce, and field service platforms to put AI where work already happens.
• Put solutions in front of real users early, gather feedback, and iterate toward measurable outcomes.
• Agree on success measures with business owners before building, track results after launch, and recommend changing course or stopping work that is not delivering value.

Production Ownership and Handoff

• Take low-code and configuration solutions on Copilot Studio, Power Platform, and Fabric all the way to production, each with a named business owner, documentation, and evaluation cases, and support them in production, including a light shared support rotation for business-critical solutions.
• Hand off solutions that need extensive custom code or a complex agent to the AI Product Engineer, packaged with documentation, known limitations, and data and access requirements.
• Partner with the Data & AI Governance Engineer so every solution follows data access, security, and responsible AI standards from the start.

Adoption and Enablement

• Own adoption after launch through training, office hours, champions in the business unit, and follow-up on usage.
• Teach business users to recognize good AI use cases and to use approved AI tools effectively and safely.
• Bring field insight back to the Data & AI team to shape the roadmap, reusable components, and priorities.

Team Practice

• Use AI-assisted development throughout your own work while remaining accountable for accuracy, security, and maintainability.
• Contribute reusable patterns, prompts, templates, and lessons learned to team standards.
• Share knowledge, provide peer review, and help shape Shermco's broader AI strategy.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, applied machine learning, solutions engineering, or a related technical role, including 2+ years building AI or LLM-based solutions used in production.
• Strong Python and SQL skills, plus experience integrating with REST APIs and enterprise systems.
• Hands-on experience building with LLMs, including prompt design, retrieval-augmented generation, tool use, and basic evaluation.
• Experience with a cloud AI platform such as Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, or Google Vertex AI.
• Demonstrated ability to run discovery with stakeholders from front-line staff to executive leadership and translate ambiguous problems into scoped, buildable solutions.
• A track record of shipping quickly, measuring results, and iterating based on user feedback.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including explaining AI capabilities, limits, and risks to non-technical audiences.
• Comfort working independently, traveling to business unit locations (approximately 10%), and managing several engagements at once.

Preferred

• Experience in a forward deployed, solutions engineering, internal consulting, or embedded product role.
• Experience with Copilot Studio, Microsoft Fabric, Power Platform, or Microsoft Foundry.
• Experience with agent frameworks and protocols such as Microsoft Agent Framework, Semantic Kernel, LangGraph, or Model Context Protocol (MCP).
• Practical experience using Claude, ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, or comparable AI tools to accelerate development.
• Experience with Salesforce, on-premises Business Central, Dayforce, or field service management platforms.
• Experience with document intelligence, unstructured data, or speech and image use cases.
• Light front-end or low-code app building experience for prototypes.
• Background in construction, electrical, field services, or another operations-heavy industry.
• Microsoft certification such as AI-102 or AI-900.

What We Offer

• A fast-growing Data & AI department where you will shape how AI is applied across the company
• A small, senior team with real ownership and direct access to leaders in every business function
• Current AI tooling across the Microsoft stack and Claude, with an operating model that favors speed and enabling governance over process for its own sake
• Work that shows up in how a real-world business estimates, schedules, and delivers

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER | DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE

Shermco is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.  Shermco is a drug-free workplace.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

Pay Range

USD $130,000.00 - USD $140,000.00 /Yr.

Compensation: 130000 to 140000 (USD)