Forward Deployed AI Operating Principal

Embed directly with portfolio company teams to bridge the gap between AI platforms and real business workflows - delivering measurable automation outcomes on fast cycle times. // WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS Most operating teams advise from a distance. This role is different. Inspired by the forward deployed engineer model - where builders embed directly in the customer's environment to deliver production outcomes in days, not quarters - this Operating Principal will sit side-by-side with portfolio company operators, hands on keyboard, bridging AI/automation platforms to their specific use cases.

You will own the full cycle: discover the problem → architect the solution → build the workflow → prove ROI. Think startup energy meets PE operating discipline. If you've spent your career translating complex platforms into customer-specific value at speed, this is the role. What You'll Do You will operate as a hands-on solution architect and embedded execution leader across Sumeru's B2B enterprise technology portfolio - part "forward deployed engineer", part transformation principal.

Your work product isn't a slide deck; it's running automation in production. 01 - EMBED & DISCOVER Forward Deploy Into Portfolio Companies Embed directly with portco CEOs, COOs, CRO's, CMO's, and operational teams on-site. Run rapid discovery sprints - time-in-motion studies, ticket and call analysis, process mining, data quality assessments - to baseline current workflows and surface the highest-value automation targets within your first weeks.

Approach each engagement the way an FDSE approaches a customer: you don't just advise, you build. 02 - ARCHITECT & BUILD Bridge Platforms to Use Cases at Speed Design and hands-on implement AI/automation workflows that connect the right tools (Claude Code/Cowork, n8n, UiPath, xClaw, custom LLM pipelines) to specific business processes - Tier 1 support deflection, order-to-cash automation, customer onboarding copilots, document intelligence for contracts and invoices.

Own the full stack from data integration to deployed workflow. Target: working pilot within 4-8 weeks per engagement, not 6-month roadmaps. 03 - PILOT, MEASURE & SCALE Prove Value Then Industrialize Run structured A/B pilots with hard KPIs. Move material volumes of work from human to machine - push automation coverage from 60% of target transaction volumes without degrading CX.

Once a use case proves out, package it for scale across regions, product lines, and additional portcos. Build the playbook as you go: patterns, reference architectures, code, and KPI frameworks that compound across the portfolio. 04 - PORTFOLIO AI ROADMAP Maintain the Automation Backlog Across Companies Own a portfolio-wide AI/automation roadmap. Rank initiatives by savings, revenue lift, payback period, and implementation complexity.

Collaborate with other operating team members to maintain a shared catalog of proven use cases (support automation, knowledge management + LLM search, professional services copilots, finance ops) - so what works at one company can be rapidly deployed at the next. 05 - DEAL DILIGENCE Pre-Deal Automation & AI Readiness Assessment Partner with deal teams on operational diligence. Quantify the AI/automation value creation case - e.g., "$3-5M annual EBITDA uplift via 40% automation of Tier 1 support within 18 months" - with defensible assumptions.

Identify critical leadership or org changes needed post-close to execute. 06 - TOOLING & VENDOR STRATEGY Define Reference Architectures & Build the Vendor Ecosystem Establish standard reference architectures for the portfolio's automation stack. Build and manage a preferred vendor ecosystem (implementation partners, AI platform providers, consultants) and negotiate portfolio-wide commercial terms. Stay current on the evolving tool landscape so you're always deploying the sharpest available solution.

07 - CAPABILITY BUILDING & CHANGE MANAGEMENT Leave Teams Stronger Than You Found Them Design org and talent changes with portco leadership - automation product owners, citizen developers, prompt engineers. Stand up AI/automation COEs in key companies. Deliver executive and…