Principal Forward-Deployed Engineer

Role Overview

We are seeking a Principal Forward-Deployed Engineer to spearhead technical strategy and delivery on Thoughtworks' flagship projects within the global Customer Experience, Product, and Design team. You'll transform client visions into tested, live products with rapid cycles, iterating globally and enhancing client capabilities.

Work Approach

This role leads the 3/3/3 method: in 3 days, establish product concept and alignment; in 3 weeks, deliver a working prototype tested for desirability, feasibility, and viability; and in 3 months, launch a minimum lovable product ready for ongoing evolution. AI integration is a core part of every phase, not an afterthought.

Team Structure and Autonomy

You will be a lead Forward-Deployed Engineer working collaboratively with a Product Strategist and Experience Designer in tight-knit pods. For larger programs, you'll coordinate architecture and delivery across multiple pods with diverse focuses such as innovation, modernization, and AI. As Tech Principal, you hold full decision-making authority on architecture, tooling, staffing, and commercial matters within defined bounds.

Location and Clients

Based in Riyadh, you will engage predominantly with visionary digital transformation projects aligned to Saudi Vision 2030 across government, portfolio companies, financial services, energy, retail, and the public sector. Familiarity with regulatory compliance and data residency standards is necessary; Arabic language skill is an advantage but not mandatory.

Responsibilities

• Lead concept sprint workshops to refine client ambitions into testable, scoped outcomes, setting clear success and stop criteria prior to development.
• Collaborate with account teams to shape technical narratives and scope, presenting confidently and maintaining focus throughout discovery.
• Drive prototype strategy, balancing build, fake, and buy decisions, ensuring user testability and rigorous AI evaluation including datasets, offline and human review, and operational guardrails.
• Own architecture and delivery frameworks for production-grade launches with agentic workflows, CI/CD, security, privacy, and multi-stream coordination as needed.
• Advise stakeholders, facilitate executive workshops, present at steering committees, and cultivate new technical opportunities.
• Mentor engineers through pairing, code reviews, reusable practice creation, and knowledge sharing internally and externally.

Required Technical Skills

• Expert-level programming abilities in Python or TypeScript, with production coding experience in at least one additional language.
• Hands-on expertise with LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Vertex), retrieval-augmented generation, vector databases (pgvector, Pinecone, Elastic), and agent frameworks like LangChain.
• Proficiency in AI system evaluation and observability including offline/online evaluations, golden datasets, LLM-as-judge methodologies, tracing and cost monitoring tools (Braintrust, LangSmith).
• Active use of AI-assisted development tools (Claude Code, Copilot, Replit) and rapid prototyping platforms (v0, Lovable, Figma Make).
• Deep understanding of cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure), IaC with Terraform, container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker), and automating CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong foundation in software architecture with API design, event streaming (Kafka, Kinesis), microservices, and enterprise legacy integrations.
• Experience designing AI-ready data platforms using Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks plus orchestration tools like dbt and Airflow.
• Frontend prototyping skills with React/Next.js, and practices such as TDD, pair programming, continuous deployment, and OWASP threat modeling in LLM contexts.
• Capability to deliver compliant solutions under regulatory regimes including GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, Saudi PDPL, and EU AI Act.
• Experience working cross-culturally especially within GCC markets; Arabic language skills or public advocacy in tech are beneficial.

Professional and Leadership Traits

• Clear, confident communication suited to diverse audiences, workshops, pitches, and asynchronous documentation.
• Product-oriented mindset emphasizing outcome-driven delivery, continuous discovery, and minimum lovable products.
• Inclusive leadership with ability to mentor and empower engineers across diverse backgrounds.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and shifting roles between strategic advisory and hands-on execution.
• Open to and skilled in collaborative feedback and knowledge sharing across disciplines.

Why Join Us

• Take part in high-profile initiatives that gain both client and industry-wide recognition.
• Engage with global markets and multidisciplinary teams, constantly advancing your expertise.
• Remain deeply technical while driving innovation and technology leadership.
• Shape best practices in AI-centric product development at the convergence of technology and user experience.
• Benefit from a culture honoring diversity, inclusion, and personalized career development.

Typical First Year Milestones

• Within 3 months: Lead a full 3/3/3 project cycle with client demand for your expertise.
• Within 6 months: Work in multiple markets with externally visible success stories.
• By 12 months: Empower other Principals and influence AI-first product innovation beyond Thoughtworks.

Travel and Location Requirements

Role is Riyadh-based with approximately 40% travel within the GCC region and occasional global travel (~10%) for team events, pursuits, and knowledge exchange.

Additional Information

Our career framework encourages personalized growth supported by interactive programs and a collaborative culture. Regarding recruitment, AI tools assist administratively but do not influence hiring decisions, which remain fully human-led. We uphold fairness and responsible AI use throughout our processes.

Company Overview

Thoughtworks is an inclusive community of passionate experts delivering transformative technology consulting and innovation for over 30 years, committed to continuous learning and impactful work worldwide.