Director, AI Forward Deployed Researcher

Location and Flexibility

This role can operate remotely within the US (we are prioritizing candidates based on the US West Coast) OR be based out of one of our major US office locations - Charlottesville, VA, Durham, NC, Columbus, OH, or Boston, MA.

The Opportunity

The Director, Forward Deployed Researcher is a strategic leader, advanced AI research specialist, and manager who directly oversees and engages in the highest-value client implementations. This role is responsible for driving frontier AI research into production, setting the strategic technical direction for enterprise clients, and managing a team of Forward Deployed Researchers and Engineers. This role operates at the critical intersection of cutting-edge research, software engineering, executive-level strategic consulting, and team management

As a Forward Deployed Researcher, Director, you will embed directly within Fortune 500 and highly regulated client organizations to advance frontier AI implementations, shape AI strategy, deliver bespoke production systems, and build world-class technical teams. Unlike traditional research leaders who remain in labs or remote environments, you will be embedded within client teams, walking the halls of banks, healthcare organizations, and tech companies to understand their unique challenges, conduct applied research, and lead the delivery of transformative AI solutions grounded in both frontier techniques and practical enterprise constraints.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic AI Research & Executive Consulting

• Act as a trusted technical and research advisor to client executive leadership (CTOs, Heads of AI, VPs of Engineering, Board Members) on overall AI strategy, roadmap, and competitive positioning
• Translate frontier AI research and complex technical concepts into actionable business strategies and implementation plans that justify premium engagement and drive measurable ROI
• Shape client understanding of what constitutes "production-ready," "scalable," and "competitive" AI systems within regulated industries
• Conduct market and technical landscape analysis to inform client AI strategy and identify emerging opportunities
• Provide thought leadership on AI best practices, emerging technologies, research trends, and industry benchmarks
• Identify opportunities for AI adoption, value creation, and competitive advantage within client organizations
• Mentor client AI leadership teams on research methodologies, experimentation, and validation practices

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Manage, mentor, and scale a team of Forward Deployed Researchers and Engineers embedded at high-value client organizations
• Oversee the development and delivery of bespoke, research-backed production systems across multiple, concurrent client engagements
• Establish best practices, technical frameworks, methodologies, and accelerators for the team that benefit multiple clients and scale across TELUS Digital
• Recruit, develop, and retain top-tier Forward Deployed talent; create career development pathways and technical competency frameworks
• Serve as an internal thought leader, sharing research insights, lessons learned, and best practices across the Forward Deployed Engineer community
• Mentor junior Forward Deployed Engineers and Solutions Engineers on technical, consulting, and leadership skills
• Foster a culture of innovation, client-centricity, continuous improvement, and technical excellence within the team
• Establish metrics, KPIs, and performance management systems for team success and client impact

Client-Embedded Research & Production Delivery

• Lead high-impact, applied AI research initiatives to address the client's most complex and ambiguous challenges during 3-6 month+ onsite engagements
• Design and implement advanced GenAI/LLM solutions (e.g., advanced RAG, multi-agent systems, custom fine-tuning, synthetic data generation, RLHF) tailored to clients' unique requirements and constraints
• Build production-ready AI systems addressing data quality, evaluation, governance, and deployment challenges in regulated environments
• Conduct frontier AI experiments (novel architectures, training methodologies, evaluation frameworks) with direct applicability to client use cases
• Ensure all production systems meet stringent security, compliance, performance, and scalability requirements for Fortune 500 and highly regulated clients
• Integrate TELUS Digital capabilities with client infrastructure, data platforms, and workflows
• Architect systems that the client can operate and evolve long-term with reduced dependency on external support
• Own end-to-end delivery from discovery, research, and validation through production deployment and optimization

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Product Influence

• Partner with TELUS Digital Product, Engineering, and Research teams to leverage platform capabilities and inform product roadmap based on client research insights
• Collaborate with Sales and Account teams on opportunity expansion, account strategy, and client success
• Represent client voice internally to drive product, service, and research improvements
• Participate in analyst relations and thought leadership initiatives to elevate TELUS Digital's market position
• Work with other Forward Deployed Directors and Engineers to share learnings and establish organizational best practices

Technical Excellence & Innovation

• Stay at the frontier of AI models, frameworks, and deployment patterns; maintain hands-on expertise in cutting-edge areas
• Experiment with emerging AI technologies and assess applicability to client challenges and competitive positioning
• Publish or present technical work, contributing to TELUS Digital's thought leadership and industry recognition
• Build and maintain expertise in frontier areas (LLMs, multimodal AI, agentic systems, synthetic data, RLHF, evaluation frameworks, etc.)
• Document technical approaches, architectures, research methodologies, and lessons learned
• Contribute to open-source projects or TELUS Digital's technical community

Competencies

• 10+ years of hands-on software engineering and AI/ML experience with production systems
• 4+ years in senior leadership or management roles managing technical teams of at least 5+ professionals (e.g., managing Forward Deployed Engineers, Solution Engineers, or Research teams)
• Proven ability to serve as a strategic advisor and technical authority to C-level stakeholders
• Deep expertise in frontier GenAI/LLMs, including:
  
  • RAG systems and vector databases
  • Agentic AI and multi-agent systems
  • Fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and in-context learning
  • Evaluation frameworks and metrics for LLM systems
  • Production MLOps and deployment
• Hands-on proficiency with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and modern AI/ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, Hugging Face)
• Proven track record of success in ambiguous, complex environments with a high degree of autonomy
• Excellent communication skills across technical, research, and executive audiences
• Self-directed and resourceful, comfortable operating independently at client sites and leading without direct authority
• Client-centric mindset with the ability to build trust and credibility quickly with C-level stakeholders
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, AI/ML, or related field

Bonus Points

• Advanced degree (MS/PhD in Computer Science, AI/ML, or related field)
• Experience at AI platform/research companies (Anthropic, OpenAI, Palantir, Scale AI, Cohere, etc.) in research, Forward Deployed, or leadership roles
• Experience at top-tier consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, Deloitte) in technical or engineering leadership roles
• Published technical work or recognized AI/ML expertise, contributing to thought leadership and industry recognition
• Prior work in regulated industries (financial services, healthcare) with compliance requirements and enterprise complexity
• Track record of mentoring engineers and building high-performing teams
• Computer vision and/or data annotation platform expertise
• Multilingual capabilities for global client engagement
• Open-source contributions or active participation in the AI research community
• Experience building bespoke solutions vs. configuring off-the-shelf products

What Success Looks Like
First 90 Days

• Successfully embedded at assigned client account(s)
• Built trust and credibility with the client's technical and executive leadership
• Conducted discovery and scoped research initiatives aligned with client strategy
• Established team structure, processes, and success metrics for the Forward Deployed team
• Delivered initial research insights, POC, or quick wins demonstrating value
• Established a clear research roadmap and delivery milestones

Year 1

• Delivered production AI system(s) informed by applied research, driving measurable client business outcomes
• Client views TELUS Digital as an indispensable technical and research partner
• Identified and scoped additional research and implementation opportunities within client organization(s)
• Mentored client AI teams and Forward Deployed team members, building their research and production capabilities
• Contributed technical and research insights that influenced TELUS Digital product/service offerings
• Built reusable patterns, frameworks, or accelerators benefiting other clients and Forward Deployed Engineers
• Established team as a high-performing unit with strong retention and client satisfaction

Ongoing

• Consistently delivers high-quality, production-ready, research-backed AI solutions across multiple client engagements
• Maintains deep, trusted relationships with client technical and executive leadership
• Expands TELUS Digital's footprint and influence within client organizations
• Serves as a technical authority and thought leader in AI research and enterprise implementation
• Mentor Forward Deployed Engineers, Solutions Engineers, and client teams
• Contributes to TELUS Digital's thought leadership through publications, presentations, or research initiatives
• Drives continuous innovation in AI solution architecture and deployment methodologies
• Builds and scales a high-performing Forward Deployed team with strong talent retention and career development

Work Environment

• Embedded at client locations (Fortune 500 enterprises, banks, healthcare organizations, AI-native companies)
• Work within client facilities alongside their engineering and research teams
• Adapt to client culture, processes, and working styles
• Build deep relationships and trust through consistent presence and technical credibility

Travel Expectations

• 60-80% travel to client sites
• Extended onsite engagements (weeks to months)
• Occasional travel to TELUS Digital offices for team collaboration, research initiatives, and knowledge sharing
• Flexibility to support multiple client locations as needed

Client Types

• Fortune 500 enterprises (Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Google, and similar)
• AI-native companies and frontier AI research teams
• Highly regulated industries (financial services, healthcare) with complex AI requirements
• Organizations with mission-critical, research-intensive AI challenges

Why This Role Matters

In AI, the gap between research and production is where most organizations fail. While many companies can demonstrate AI capabilities or conduct research in isolation, few can successfully bridge cutting-edge research with complex enterprise implementations, combining frontier techniques with real data, real constraints, and real business impact.

Directors of Forward Deployed Research are the bridge between possibility and production. By embedding with clients and leading high-performing teams, they ensure TELUS Digital's AI solutions don't just impress in research papers or demos; they deliver transformative, research-backed results in the real world. They also elevate TELUS Digital's market position from services vendor to trusted AI research and implementation partner, while building the next generation of technical leaders.

This role is for technical leaders who want to:

• Conduct applied AI research with real-world impact at enterprise scale
• See their research and code drive tangible business outcomes
• Work on diverse, frontier AI challenges across industries
• Build and mentor high-performing technical teams
• Operate at the intersection of cutting-edge AI research and enterprise realit