Forward Deployed Software Engineering Director

About Indicium AI

Indicium AI was Anthropic’s first European launch partner - and sits among a handful of organisations globally trusted by Anthropic to deploy Claude at enterprise scale. We are also one of the first four OpenAI partners in the UK, and Databricks Ventures has invested in our business and holds a seat on our board. Our engineers have access to the latest AI tools and models, partner technical teams, and early capability previews that the wider market does not.

We are deploying production AI systems into the world's most complex organisations across Financial Services, Energy, and Healthcare. We exist to make AI a genuine competitive advantage for our clients, not in a presentation but in production.

The Role

Software engineering is being fundamentally reshaped by AI. The organisations that move fastest to adopt AI native development practices - Claude Code across their engineering teams, agents embedded in their SDLC, new operating models for how engineers and AI tools work together - will have a decisive advantage. Most enterprises know this. Very few have the leadership to make it happen.

This is a senior technical leadership role at the head of our Forward Deployed Software Engineering practice. Reporting to the CTO, you will lead a team of Forward Deployed Software Engineers who embed with client engineering organisations to transform how they build software in the age of AI.

You will own the practice end to end - the quality of engagements, the playbooks that let it scale, the team you build, and the relationships you hold with clients and partners. This is a role for a true lifetime software engineer: someone who has built and shaped engineering teams, who has likely held CTO or VP Engineering roles, and who is now deeply passionate about how AI is transforming the discipline they have spent their career mastering.

You will work directly with client engineering leaders at the most senior level, with Anthropic partner teams, and with Indicium AI leadership to define the direction of our software engineering transformation practice.

What You Will Do

• Lead, hire, and develop a high-performing team of Forward Deployed Software Engineers - setting a high bar for engineering excellence, client instincts, and delivery quality
• Define and evolve the Indicium AI approach to AI native engineering transformation - covering Claude Code adoption, agentic SDLC tooling, engineering operating models, team structures, and best practice at scale
• Own the technical and operational bar for software engineering engagements - reviewing SOWs, shaping engagement architecture, and ensuring your team delivers lasting capability change in client organisations
• Manage hands-on technical delivery in enterprise - you are comfortable moving fluidly between boardroom conversations with a CTO about engineering strategy and pairing with your team on a client codebase
• Build the playbooks, reference implementations, and repeatable patterns that turn one-off transformation engagements into a scalable practice
• Develop vertical fluency across the team in Financial Services, Energy, and Healthcare - understanding the specific engineering constraints and compliance requirements of each sector
• Partner with Sales to shape pipeline, scope engagements, and identify expansion opportunities within existing accounts
• Work alongside Anthropic field teams on joint engagements - representing Indicium AI at the highest level
• Provide technical mentorship, conduct regular 1:1s, and invest in the career growth of each team member
• Be the external voice of Indicium AI’s software engineering transformation practice - through client relationships, partner engagement, and thought leadership

What We Are Looking For

• 10+ years in software engineering with at least 4 years in senior engineering leadership - CTO, VP Engineering, Head of Engineering, or equivalent roles where you built and shaped teams
• A true lifetime software engineer - you have written production code across your career, led architecture decisions on complex systems, and built engineering cultures that ship
• Deep passion for how AI is transforming software engineering - you are already using AI native development tools and have a clear, informed view on where the discipline is heading
• A track record of building engineering teams from early stage - hiring, developing, and retaining exceptional engineers, not just managing an inherited organisation
• Experience driving engineering transformation - whether adopting new practices, retooling an SDLC, or scaling an engineering organisation through a step change in capability
• Enterprise credibility - you have worked with or within large engineering organisations and understand the realities of legacy systems, compliance, procurement, and multi-team coordination
• Executive presence - you can hold your own with a CTO or VP Engineering and translate technical strategy into clear narratives for diverse audiences
• High agency and comfort with ambiguity - you have built something from zero before and know what it takes

Nice to Have

• Former CTO or VP Engineering at a scaling technology company
• Experience in a client-facing engineering role - forward deployed engineering, technical consulting, or engineering advisory
• Experience with Claude Code enterprise deployment, AI agent integration into development workflows, or MCP server development
• External presence - writing, speaking, or community contribution in the software engineering or engineering leadership space
• Experience working alongside or within partner ecosystems such as Anthropic, Databricks, or AWS at a senior level
• Experience in a Palantir, Anthropic, DeepMind, or similar forward-deployed engineering model

Why Indicium AI

Access to leading AI Labs: Anthropic’s first European launch partner. One of the first four OpenAI UK partners. Databricks Ventures invested and on our board. Our engineers work with capabilities before the wider market does and work jointly with teams from leading AI Labs on customer delivery.

We are builders: We embed, we architect, we build - and we stay until it works. Our engineers make real decisions on live systems, for clients in industries where getting it wrong has consequences. There are no layers between you and the work.

Problems worth solving: No two engagements are the same. The variety and complexity of enterprise AI problems at Indicium AI is something a product company simply cannot offer. If you want engagements that test every dimension of what you can do, this is where they are.

Investment in staying at the frontier: The best engineers we know are relentlessly curious - and we build an environment that supports learning and growth. Every engineer has access to leading AI training and tools, career development pathways, and a flexible L&D budget. We think that’s how it should be.