Principal Forward Deployed Engineer

Why UKG

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. We help people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That’s what we do.

We are seeking a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer to drive the most complex, high-impact enterprise engagements across UKG’s HCM, Payroll, and Workforce Management ecosystem. This role blends principal‑level architecture, agentic AI leadership, and multi‑engagement execution across strategic accounts. You will operate as a senior technical leader handling multiple concurrent initiatives, shaping customer outcomes, platform evolution, and AI‑driven transformation. This is a hands‑on leadership role at the intersection of engineering, product, and revenue — not a services role.

• Own and oversee multiple complex enterprise engagements simultaneously
• Define architecture patterns adopted across customers and regions
• Drive AI‑enabled transformation strategies across strategic accounts
• Influence product roadmap, platform capabilities, and go‑to‑market strategy
• Operate with high autonomy and accountability for business and technical outcomes

This role defines how UKG scales enterprise delivery, architecture, and AI‑driven innovation across its largest customers. You will drive multi‑account impact, shape platform evolution, and establish UKG as a leader in enterprise AI‑enabled workforce solutions.

• Lead architecture across complex multi‑system ecosystems (HCM, Payroll, WFM, ERP, IAM)
• Drive delivery of production‑grade integrations, automation, and AI‑enabled workflows
• Oversee multiple FDE engagements, ensuring quality, scalability, and consistency
• Act as executive technical advisor to CIO/CTO‑level stakeholders
• Step in hands‑on for critical design or delivery challenges
• Drive reusable accelerators, templates, and reference architectures across engagements
• Mentor senior FDEs and influence engineering best practices
• Ensure alignment with platform governance and engineering standards

• Define and scale agentic AI patterns across enterprise deployments
• Advise customers on AI transformation, including orchestration, automation, and decision systems
• Design AI‑enabled architectures integrating enterprise systems and workflows
• Ensure AI solutions meet enterprise requirements for security, compliance, and auditability
• Drive reusable AI patterns and contribute to platform and product roadmap
• Translate real‑world AI use cases into scalable, repeatable capabilities

• Partner with Sales on strategic pursuits and deal acceleration
• Align with Product and Engineering on roadmap and platform evolution
• Collaborate with Customer Success on adoption and expansion strategy
• Influence GTM strategy through technical insight and customer feedback

• 12–15+ years in software engineering, architecture, or distributed systems
• Deep expertise in enterprise integrations (APIs, event‑driven systems, data pipelines, IAM)
• Strong cloud architecture experience (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Proven experience leading complex, multi‑threaded enterprise initiatives
• Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to operate across multiple priorities in high‑ambiguity environments

• Experience with AI‑enabled systems, LLMs, copilots, or automation platforms
• Strong understanding of agentic AI concepts (agents, orchestration, tool use)
• Experience applying AI within enterprise environments (security, compliance, governance)
• Ability to translate AI strategy into production‑ready architectures at scale
• Strong systems thinking across human + AI + system interactions

• Reduction in Time‑to‑Value across multiple enterprise accounts
• Expansion ARR influenced across portfolio of engagements
• Reusable assets and AI patterns adopted broadly
• Delivery quality and scalability across concurrent engagements
• Executive‑level customer satisfaction
• Influence on product roadmap and…