# Director, Forward Deployed Engineer (CMC R&D)

**Company**: GSK
**Location**: London
**Work arrangement**: hybrid
**Experience**: staff
**Job type**: full-time
**Category**: Engineering
**Industry**: Healthcare

**Apply**: https://gsk.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/GSKCareers/job/UK--London--New-Oxford-Street/Director--Forward-Deployed-Engineer_449697-1?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply
**Canonical**: https://yubhub.co/jobs/job_f27b87d9-b39

## Description

GSK’s Enterprise AI team builds AI solutions that prove value fast and scale to production. The Director, Forward Deployed Engineering leads the FDE function for the research engine of the Chemical Manufacturing Controls (CMC) and will drive the front of the Enterprise AI delivery pipeline that proves AI ideas with the business through first production versions, before handing proven solutions off to the Solutions Engineer for scale-up.

This Staff role leads the Forward Deployed Engineering function with direct line management of the FDE team. The Staff sets FDE strategy and engagement priorities, owns Director-level BU sponsor relationships, and represents Enterprise AI on FDE matters to GSK leadership.

The role continues to contribute technically at the frontier of AI-augmented engineering , humans steer, agents execute.

CMC is the GSK function that turns a validated molecule into a reliably manufactured, quality-assured medicine; its mission is to get safe, effective, consistently manufactured medicines to patients, faster.

**Key Responsibilities:**

- Lead the Forward Deployed Engineering function , strategy, structure, hiring, development, and standards.

- Hire, mentor, and develop the FDE team , creating development paths from G8 through to G5.

- Set the standards for AI-native engineering practice within the function , agent workflows, prompt and pattern libraries, handoff hygiene.

- Own relationships with Director and Senior Director-level BU sponsors across business units that bring AI use cases to Enterprise AI.

- Take on the most strategic FDE engagements personally , the ones that set precedents for the function.

- Make and defend portfolio-level kill/continue decisions across FDE engagements with BU and Enterprise AI leadership.

- Coordinate with the Solutions Engineering and Operations Engineering functions on the delivery pipeline; represent FDE in Enterprise AI leadership forums.

- Influence vendor strategy and tooling choices for AI-native engineering practice within Enterprise AI.

- Ensure the FDE function operates within Code Orange, Responsible AI, and Accountability Report governance from the prototype stage onward.

- Provide regular reporting to Enterprise AI leadership on FDE function performance , engagement pipeline, outcomes, team development, and capacity.

**What You Bring:**

- Extensive experience in software engineering and AI/ML engineering, with significant time leading senior engineering teams or functions.

- Demonstrated experience taking AI ideas from sketch to working software at speed, in customer-facing engineering roles.

- Strong depth in at least 3 of the following: digital twins, predictive modeling, document generation, multi-agent orchestration & automation, Physical AI.

- Daily use of AI coding agents (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Databricks AI Assistant) as the primary mode of development.

- Experience hiring, mentoring, and developing senior engineering talent.

- Track record of representing engineering functions to senior business stakeholders.

**What Success Looks Like:**

- The FDE function is operating with a clear engagement pipeline, defined standards, and a team that is delivering at pace and developing toward greater seniority.

- Director and Senior Director-level BU sponsors describe Enterprise AI’s FDE function as a credible, high-value partner , not a vendor relationship.

- At least one portfolio-level kill/continue decision has been made and defended, with Enterprise AI and BU leadership aligned on the outcome.

- AI-native engineering standards , agent workflows, prompt and pattern libraries, handoff hygiene , are documented and actively used by the team.

**Work Location:** This role is based at GSK HQ, London and offers a hybrid working model, combining on-site and remote work.

## Skills

### Required
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Artificial Intelligence Ethics
- Artificial Neural Networks (ANNS)
- Classification Models
- Deep Learning
- Intelligent Automation (IA)
- Machine Learning (ML)
- Model Evaluation
- Predictive Modeling
- Python (Programming Language)
- Test Documentation

### Nice to have
- Prior leadership experience at an AI-native company
- Experience with physical devices AI automation
- Experience in regulated industries
- Experience in the process development in a pharmaceutical research environment
- Experience setting AI engineering standards at organisational scale

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