Principal Forward Deployment Engineer

Principal Forward Deployment Engineer - India

This role isOffice/Field Based, Hyderabad Office

We are seeking anaccomplished Principal Forward Deployed Engineer to serve as the criticalbridge between Cornerstone's product engineering teams and our most strategicenterprise customers. As aprincipal-level FDE, you will own end-to-end technical engagements, drivesuccessful deployments of AI-powered Workforce Agility products, and translatecomplex customer needs into productinnovations.

In thisrole you will...

• Lead technical deployments and integrations ofCornerstone's AI-native Workforce Agility products at strategic enterpriseaccounts, ensuring high-impact, successful outcomes.
• Act as the primary technical authority in customerengagements - owning solution architecture, implementation strategy, andlong-term adoption planning.
• Partner directly with customers to deeplyunderstand their workforce challenges, then design and deliver tailoredAI-driven solutions leveraging Generative AI and Agentic Frameworks.
• Translate field learnings into actionable productfeedback, influencing roadmap decisions by collaborating closely with Product,Engineering, and AI teams.
• Build and maintain reference architectures,integration patterns, and deployment playbooks that scale best practices acrossthe FDE organization.
• Mentor and technically guide junior FDEs,establishing standards for customer delivery, technical discovery, and solutiondesign.
• Present technical vision and deployment strategiesto C-suite and senior stakeholders, building confidence and driving executivealignment.
• Identify and prototype custom solutions -including scripts, APIs, and AI workflow extensions - that accelerate customertime-to-value.
• Stay current with enterprise integrationtechnologies, AI advancements, and industry trends to continuously elevatecustomer engagements.

You've got what ittakes if you have...

• Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science,Engineering, or a closely related field (or equivalent experience in seniorenterprise technical roles.
• 6+ years of hands-on experience in enterprisesoftware deployment, systems integration, or solutions engineering - withstrong proficiency in Python, Java, or equivalent.
• 1-2 years of experience deploying or integratingproducts built on Generative AI, LLMs, or Agentic Frameworks in productionenterprise environments.
• Deep familiarity with AI/ML concepts (NLP,recommendation systems, LLMs) sufficient to architect AI-native solutions andcommunicate technical trade-offs to customers.
• Proven track record of owning complex,multi-stakeholder enterprise deployments from discovery through go-live andvalue realization.
• Experience with Agentic systems and familiaritywith A2A (Agent-to-Agent) and MCP (Model Context Protocol) patterns incustomer-facing contexts.
• Strong understanding of enterprise integrationpatterns - REST APIs, event-driven architectures, SSO/identity, HRIS/HCMsystems (Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, etc.).
• Exceptional communication and executive presence:equally fluent explaining architecture to engineers and articulating businessvalue to CHROs and CTOs.
• Outstanding problem-solving instincts - able todiagnose ambiguous customer environments quickly and drive toward solutionsunder pressure.
• Leadership qualities that inspire trustwith customers and cross-functional internal teams alike.

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