Forward Deployed Engineer

Job Posting Title: Forward Deployed Engineer

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Hiring Department:

ET - AI Platforms and Innovation

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Oct 31, 2029

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Location:

AUSTIN, TX

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Job Details:

General Notes

This is a fixed term position that ends three years from the employee’s start date.

Flexible work arrangements are available for this position, including the ability to work remotely at least 50% of the time within the United States. In-person meetings will be required when applicable. We prefer a candidate located in the greater Austin area as travel to campus for occasional in-person events, training, team meetings, activities, etc., will be required.

This position provides a balance of life/work with typically a 40-hour work week, and travel limited to training (e.g., conferences/courses).

Enterprise Technology is dedicated to supporting the mission of the University of Texas at Austin of unlocking potential and preparing future leaders of the state.

Your skills will make a difference.

You’ll be working for a university that is internationally recognized for research and the work you do will make a difference in the lives of our students, faculty and staff. If you’re the type of person that wants to know your work has meaning and impact, you’ll like working for our campus.

The University of Texas at Austin and Enterprise Technology provide an outstanding benefits package to our staff. Those benefits include:

• Competitive health benefits (Employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)
• Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Teachers Retirement System of Texas (a defined benefit retirement plan)
• Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)
• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses
• Training and conference opportunities
• Tuition assistance
• Athletic ticket discounts
• Access to UT Austin's libraries and museums
• Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Capital metro buses with staff ID card

For more details, please see: and

Must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship.

This position requires you to maintain internet service and a mobile phone with voice and data plans to be used when required for work.

Purpose

Enterprise Technology's AI Studio serves as the central hub for The University of Texas at Austin's artificial intelligence initiatives and works to expand access to AI tools, services, and expertise across campus. The Forward Deployed Engineer designs, develops, and implements AI-powered applications and solutions that address the evolving needs of the university community.

This position works directly with faculty, staff, researchers, and campus partners to identify opportunities for AI integration and transform ideas into functional, production-ready software. The Forward Deployed Engineer combines full-stack software development, AI application engineering, and technical collaboration to deliver solutions that improve teaching, research, and institutional operations.

Working closely with AI engineers, AI educators, campus IT teams, and student innovators, this role helps bridge the gap between emerging AI capabilities and practical implementation. The position contributes to the development of reusable applications, shared engineering resources, and technical practices that support sustainable AI adoption across the university.

Responsibilities

AI Application Development and Engineering:

• Design, develop, test, and deploy AI-powered applications that address academic, research, and administrative needs across the university.
• Build full-stack software solutions using modern programming languages and frameworks, including Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and related technologies.
• Develop backend services, REST APIs, user-facing applications, and integrations that incorporate large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and other emerging AI capabilities.
• Integrate AI models and services from providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft Azure, Google, and other platforms into applications and institutional workflows.
• Develop applications incorporating AI capabilities such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), agentic workflows, tool calling, and structured data processing.
• Design software architectures that prioritize reliability, maintainability, security, and scalability.
• Implement authentication, authorization, and secure data-handling practices when integrating applications with university systems and services.
• Develop automated tests, participate in code reviews, and apply software engineering best practices to maintain application quality.
• Troubleshoot application issues, investigate unexpected AI model behavior, and implement improvements to enhance functionality and reliability.
• Create reusable software components, development templates, and shared libraries that accelerate future AI application development.

Campus AI Solutions and Technical Collaboration:

• Partner with faculty, staff, researchers, and academic and administrative units to identify challenges that may benefit from AI-powered solutions.
• Gather requirements, evaluate technical feasibility, and recommend implementation approaches that align with stakeholder needs and available resources.
• Translate conceptual ideas and early-stage use cases into working prototypes, proof-of-concept applications, and production-ready solutions.
• Collaborate with stakeholders throughout the development process to incorporate feedback and ensure applications meet functional expectations.
• Provide technical guidance on AI application design, model integration, and software development approaches.
• Support AI Studio workshops, demonstrations, and technical sessions that introduce campus communities to AI application development and emerging technologies.
• Work with student developers and innovators to support experimentation, prototyping, and the development of AI-enabled applications.
• Help lower barriers to AI adoption by building accessible tools, creating practical examples, and sharing engineering knowledge with campus partners.
• Coordinate with campus IT teams and other technical stakeholders when solutions require integration with existing institutional systems.

AI Solution Delivery and Continuous Improvement:

• Manage the technical development of assigned projects from initial exploration and planning through implementation, deployment, and ongoing refinement.
• Break down complex technical challenges into manageable development tasks and establish practical implementation approaches.
• Evaluate potential technologies, frameworks, and architectures based on project requirements, technical constraints, and long-term maintainability.
• Assess AI application performance, model outputs, and user feedback to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, application architecture diagrams, implementation guides, and operational resources.
• Collaborate with AI Studio engineering teams to establish common development patterns and improve consistency across applications.
• Monitor application behavior, investigate defects, and implement enhancements that improve reliability and user experience.
• Explore emerging AI models, development frameworks, and engineering practices to identify opportunities for new solutions.
• Contribute technical findings and implementation insights that inform the continued development of AI Studio platforms, services, and capabilities.

Perform Other Related Functions as Assigned:

• Contribute to cross-functional initiatives related to AI governance, responsible AI practices, application security, and institutional technology strategy.
• Participate in technical planning sessions, project reviews, and collaboration with Enterprise Technology teams.
• Support the development and maintenance of internal engineering standards, documentation, and development workflows.
• Stay informed about advancements in generative AI, software engineering, and emerging AI application architectures.
• Assist with the creation of educational materials, demonstrations, and technical resources that support AI literacy and adoption across campus

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, or a related field. Relevant work experience may substitute for education.
• Two or more years of professional experience in software engineering, application development, solutions engineering, or a related technical field.
• Strong programming proficiency in Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, or comparable programming languages, with demonstrated experience developing and maintaining production-quality software.
• Experience developing full-stack applications, including backend services, REST APIs, database integrations, and web-based user interfaces.
• Hands-on experience developing applications that integrate large language models (LLMs), generative AI services, or machine learning APIs.
• Understanding of software architecture principles, including application scalability, maintainability, reliability, and security.
• Experience integrating applications with external APIs, databases, authentication services, or enterprise systems.
• Familiarity with modern software development practices, including Git-based version control, automated testing, code reviews, and technical documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to independently investigate technical challenges, evaluate potential solutions, and implement effective approaches.
• Experience translating stakeholder requirements into functional software applications and delivering projects through the development lifecycle.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate evolving technical requirements and unfamiliar technologies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to audiences with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders.

Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using and configuring enterprise AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude, including advanced capabilities for research, software development, workflow automation, and task execution.
• Familiarity with ChatGPT and Claude extensibility features, including Skills, Plugins, Connectors, custom GPTs, Claude Projects, and other capabilities for tailoring AI assistants to specific workflows and organizational needs.
• Experience developing or configuring custom AI skills, tools, and integrations that extend the functionality of AI assistants and connect them to external applications, APIs, and institutional data sources.
• Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) and related standards for connecting AI assistants and agents with enterprise systems, tools, and services.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools, such as Claude Code, Codex, or similar agentic coding environments, to accelerate application development, testing, and deployment.
• Understanding of AI agent workflows and orchestration, including tool use, multi-step task execution, context management, and human-in-the-loop approval processes.
• Experience developing and deploying applications on cloud infrastructure platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), with familiarity in cloud services, containerized deployments, API management, and infrastructure automation.
• Experience developing, deploying, and maintaining Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, including locally hosted and Docker-containerized MCP services, integrating external tools and APIs, and configuring related tooling for secure communication between AI assistants, applications, and enterprise systems.

Salary Range

$95,000 - $110,000

Working Conditions

• May work around standard office conditions
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity

Work Shift

• Monday – Friday, flexible between 7am-6pm

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.