Forward Deployed Senior AI Engineering Manager

Job Description

Recruiter: Sowmya Reddy

Hiring Manager: Jim Tanner

Career Grade: C

External Closing Date: 8th June, 2026

About the role

The Forward Deployed AI Engineering Senior Manager leads a specialist engineering capability within location that works directly with business areas to re engineer processes, embed AI into workflows, design human oversight patterns, and implement agent based solutions.
This role ensures BT’s business processes, operational journeys and service flows can safely and effectively adopt AI, by embedding engineers “forward” into priority initiatives. These engineers work hands on with CFU teams to decompose processes, design agent/human boundaries, implement orchestration patterns, test AI enabled workflows, and accelerate front to back delivery of AI-enabled change.The Forward Deployed AI Engineering Senior Manager is responsible for making engineering real inside the business, bridging the gap between central AI enablers (platform, lifecycle, governance) and the specific workflows where value is created.

What you’ll be doing

Leadership & Vision
• Provide engineering leadership for redesigning operational processes, service journeys and support flows using AI and agentic patterns.
• Assist in shaping the long term direction of AI embedded business operations.

Business Embedded Process Re engineering
• Provide engineering support for AI process re engineering, working directly with CFUs to redesign business workflows.
• Decompose processes into agent tasks, human oversight checkpoints, orchestration flows and exception paths.

Human Oversight & Agent Coordination Design
• Design human in the loop models, oversight checkpoints, escalation routes and intervention logic.
• Define safe interaction patterns between humans, AI agents, models and tools.
• Ensure operational controls, auditability and behaviour monitoring are maintained within workflows.
Forward Deployed Engineering Execution
• Lead a team of software engineers, applied AI engineers and workflow specialists embedded into business initiatives.
• Provide hands-on engineering, rapid prototyping and solution implementation aligned to business needs.

Technical Workflow Development
• Translate redesigned processes into executable workflows by incorporating agent orchestration logic, prompt and agent design, API and service integrations, automation triggers, and error and fallback mechanisms, while ensuring alignment with platform capabilities and enablers.

AI Safety, Risk & Compliance Integration
• Translate redesigned processes into executable workflows by incorporating agent orchestration logic, prompt and agent design, API and service integrations, automation triggers, and error and fallback mechanisms, while ensuring alignment with platform capabilities and enablers.

Data Readiness & Dependencies
• Identify data availability, quality and access constraints affecting workflow automation or agent use.
• Partner with Data teams to resolve data issues that block workflow delivery.
• Ensure data controls and privacy requirements are applied within workflows.

Cross functional Integration
•Work with:
•AI Product team to ensure engineering and solution design needs inform the advisory capability and the enabler product roadmap.
•AI Platform Engineering team to align builds to technical platform capabilities and feedback on capability adoption and usability.
•Senior Manager, Governance & Financials to embed governance requirements into engineering patterns.
•Senior Manager, Delivery (PMO + Portfolio) to ensure sequencing and milestone tracking.
•Senior Specialist, AI Upskilling to enable adoption of new technical capabilities and best practice in federating AI engineering skills.

People Leadership & Culture
•Build a high performing forward deployed engineering team with blended skills across applied AI engineering, workflow build and business partnering.
•Develop engineering capability that operates confidently in business contexts and translates technical concepts into workflow solutions.
•Champion a culture of safe engineering, iterative delivery and close collaboration with CFU teams.

Essential Skills / Experience

•Strong background in software engineering, applied AI engineering, decision science, workflow automation or systems integration.
•Understanding of AI-enabled workflow design, agent orchestration and human in the loop patterns.
•Proven leadership of technical teams operating in fast-paced, ambiguous business environments.
•Strong stakeholder management and influence skills.
•Experience ensuring safety, compliance and governance requirements are met within technical execution.

Desirable Skills / Experience

•Knowledge of service operations, customer journeys or telecom operational processes.
•Experience embedding engineers or technical specialists into business-facing delivery teams
•Experience with orchestration frameworks, agent systems, workflow engines or automation platforms.
•Understanding of AI safety techniques, monitoring, fallback logic and auditability.
•Familiarity with enterprise AI platform capabilities and reusable APIs.
•Experience working with data science, product and research teams in cross-functional environments.

BT is the UK’s leading communications group and the holding company behind some of the country’s most recognised brands – including BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet. Our purpose is as simple as it is ambitious: we connect for good. Our customers include consumers, small, medium and large businesses, public sector organisations and other communications providers.

BT 's role is about setting direction, unlocking value and creating the conditions for our brands and businesses to thrive.

Having come through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, our focus now is on what comes next – simplifying how we operate, using technology and AI to work smarter, and organising ourselves to serve customers better and grow sustainably. Group teams shape strategy, policy, brand, capital allocation and transformation, helping the whole organisation perform at its best.

We have a singular culture that unites all our people: we are customer-first challengers, who are committed, clear and connected. These behaviours unite us as one team to deliver for our colleagues, our customers, our stakeholders and the country. Joining BT means working at the heart of a business that matters to the UK, with the opportunity to shape decisions, influence outcomes and help set the future course of one of the country’s most important companies.

In order to develop or enhance the pre-requisite skills, we would recommend you visit https://snip.bt.com/digitalcampus and search for learning related to the skills associated with the role.