Position Title: Practice Manager, Forward Deployment Engineer
Position Type: Regular - Full-Time
Grade: Grade 06
Requisition ID: 43592
The FDE Practice Manager is responsible for setting and elevating the Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) capability across McCain, ensuring a high standard of technical excellence, business impact, and career development within the FDE community. This player-coach leadership role owns the Yellow-portfolio FDE talent pool, personally contributes to strategic engagements, and serves as the accountable leader for FDE quality, talent development, staffing, and practice standards. Working closely with Artificial Intelligence, engineering, and business stakeholders, the FDE Practice Lead will champion best practices and drive measurable value through AI-enabled transformation initiatives.
What you'll be doing.- Establish and maintain the FDE competency framework, role definition, and development pathways across McCain.
- Build, coach, mentor, and develop the FDE community through structured feedback, training, and professional development initiatives.
- Lead hiring, talent calibration, workforce planning, and performance management activities for the Yellow-portfolio FDE team.
- Own the allocation and assignment of FDE resources across Yellow business portfolios, aligning talent to business priorities and development objectives.
- Personally lead selected business engagements as a player-coach, providing hands-on guidance and in-flight coaching to FDE team members.
- Partner with Commercial, Marketing, and Manufacturing FDE leaders to build consistency in standards, practices, and outcomes across the broader FDE community.
- Collaborate with AI Platform & Engineering, Knowledge Engineering, AI Deployment & Enablement, and Governance leaders to drive alignment and delivery success.
- Develop and maintain FDE playbooks, engagement models, operating standards, and reusable methodologies that improve efficiency and business outcomes.
- Ensure all FDE-led initiatives adhere to McCain Responsible AI, security, governance, and risk management requirements.
- Represent the FDE practice with senior leadership teams, executive sponsors, and business stakeholders to drive alignment and adoption of AI-enabled solutions.
What you'll need to be successful.- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
- 10+ years of experience managing complex business, customer, or technology engagements.
- 3+ years of experience leading a professional practice, center of excellence, or team of senior individual contributors.
- Demonstrated success operating as a player-coach, combining hands-on delivery with coaching and team development responsibilities.
- Proven ability to establish and maintain a high-performance culture among senior practitioners.
- Strong influencing skills and experience partnering with senior leaders without direct authority.
- Executive presence, customer focus, and the ability to navigate ambiguity in fast-changing environments.
- Track record of delivering measurable business outcomes and driving organizational adoption of new capabilities.
- Experience with AI transformation, consulting, forward-deployed engineering models, or related disciplines is preferred.
- Strong commitment to ethical and responsible AI practices, governance, and risk management.
About the team.The FDE Practice Manager is part of the Artificial Intelligence organization and reports to the Vice President, Artificial Intelligence. This role leads the Yellow-portfolio FDE talent pool and partners closely with AI Engineering, AI Platform & Engineering, Knowledge Engineering, AI Deployment & Enablement, Governance, and business stakeholders across multiple functions. The team operates through a player-coach model focused on developing talent, scaling best practices, and delivering measurable business outcomes through AI-enabled solutions.
Compensation Package : $111,700.00 - $149,000.00 . CAD annually + Bonus Eligibility
The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience, skill set, education and training, and other organizational needs. This posting is for an existing vacancy.
Benefits: At McCain, we're on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and well-being at the heart of what we do, every day. We understand and appreciate that each person's needs are unique and ensure our benefits & well-being programs reflect that. Employees are eligible for the following benefits: health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug), retirement savings benefits, and leave support including medical, family and bereavement. Well-being programs include vacation and holidays, company-supported volunteering time, and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned with applicable law and can vary by work level, location, and nature of the role. Additional benefit detail available during the application process.
Your well-being matters to us, and we're here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work - and at home.
Job Family: Information Technology
Location(s): CA - Canada : Ontario : Toronto
Company: McCain Foods (Canada)
