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Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Onsite
We are the leading provider of professional services to the middle market globally, our purpose is to instill confidence in a world of change, empowering our clients and people to realize their full potential. Our exceptional people are the key to our unrivaled, culture and talent experience and our ability to be compelling to our clients. You’ll find an environment that inspires and empowers you to thrive both personally and professionally. There’s no one like you and that’s why there’s nowhere like RSM.
A Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is a hands‑on technical professional who sits close to clients and close to product/engineering teams and within the business. The role bridges solution architecture, engineering, and client delivery—deploying, adapting, and operationalizing complex technical solutions (often AI, data or platform‑driven) in real client environments.
In AI‑enabled managed services, FDEs are positioned to:
Embed AI capabilities into client operations
Stand up point‑in‑time or always‑on AI services
Customize “platform + services” offerings at scale for the services being engaged
Accelerate value realization post‑sale
The individual gets deployed primarily during the onboarding process and thereafter stays engaged through the client lifecycle as needed to optimize the managed services engagement model. This sustained involvement helps accelerate time-to-value, improve adoption and operational outcomes, and ultimately increases client lifetime value.
The individuals need to be able to talk to CTOs, CFOs, CIOs or their representatives. Strong business acumen, business process understanding, and critical thinking skills are essential to connect technical decisions to measurable outcomes and value creation.
Responsibilities:
Client‑Facing Solution Deployment
Work directly with client stakeholders (technical and business) to optimize current client environments and/or implement solutions in live environments.
Translate ambiguous business problems into deployable technical architectures and solutions.
Customize, configure, and extend platforms to meet client‑specific requirements.
Troubleshoot production issues and optimize performance post‑deployment.
Engineering & Technical Execution
Write production‑quality code, scripts, and integrations (Python, SQL, APIs, cloud services).
Build proofs‑of‑concept and evolve them into scalable implementations.
Integrate client systems (ERP, finance, data platforms, cloud infrastructure).
Work with clients to ensure solutions meet security, compliance and reliability requirements.
Product & Platform Feedback Loop
Act as a conduit between clients and internal product/engineering teams.
Provide structured feedback on feature gaps, usability issues, and scalability constraints.
Influence product roadmap based on real‑world deployment learnings.
Managed Services Lifecycle (Outsourced & Co‑Sourced)
Embed throughout transition-to-run and steady-state operations to optimize delivery, accelerate time-to-value, and drive measurable outcomes (adoption, reliability, cost-to-serve)—ultimately increasing client lifetime value.
Own transition-to-run (handoff + stabilization) with defined hypercare window and exit criteria (SLO attainment, runbooks complete, monitoring/alerting live, knowledge transfer signed off).
Operate an ongoing change/enhancement intake: shape requests into deployable backlog items (sizing, dependencies, risk/impact) and coordinate release readiness with delivery teams.
Work with Service Integration to identify Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) items to maintain a recurring optimization plan tied to outcomes (automation opportunities, defect reduction, performance improvements, cost-to-serve reduction).
Support renewal and expansion motions with an executive-ready technical narrative backed by evidence (adoption, reliability, automation ROI, realized business value).
Outsourced solutions (RSM runs operations)
Partner with service delivery leadership to manage service performance (SLA/OLA attainment plans, incident trends, problem management/root-cause analysis, prevention engineering).
Build and maintain runbooks, automations, and guardrails that standardize delivery and improve scalability (reduce hero-dependency).
Continuously improve observability (dashboards, alert thresholds, key health metrics) to detect issues early and shorten mean time to restore.
Co‑sourced solutions (shared operations with client)
Define and maintain the joint operating model (RACI, integration points, escalation paths, change/release responsibilities) so shared delivery is predictable.
Run enablement and knowledge transfer as an ongoing motion (playbooks, office hours, paired troubleshooting) to upskill client teams and sustain outcomes.
Establish shared telemetry (dashboards and outcome metrics) so both sides manage performance, adoption, and continuous improvement with the same facts.
Governance & client lifecycle engagement
Participate in onboarding checkpoints, monthly service reviews, and QBRs to align technical roadmap and operational performance to business outcomes.
Own or maintain key technical artifacts as a single source of truth (architecture decisions, integration maps, dependency register, operational risk log entries).
Provide early risk/health signals and mitigation plans ahead of renewals to protect and grow client lifetime value.
Cross‑Functional Collaboration
Partner with solution architects, data scientists, service owners and delivery leads.
Support pre‑sales, pilot phases and client transition, where deep technical credibility is required.
Document deployment patterns, best practices, and reusable assets.
Required Skills & Experience:
Technical
Strong software engineering fundamentals.
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Data engineering, analytics, or AI/ML deployment experience (common but not universal).
APIs, system integrations, and automation.
Ability to operate in partially defined, fast‑changing environments.
Work with Information Security team to ensure security is not compromised and pen testing is applied as needed.
Client & Consulting
Ability to explain complex technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders.
Strong problem‑solving in ambiguous, real‑world client scenarios.
Executive‑ready communication when needed; hands‑on execution always.
Business acumen and business process understanding to translate client objectives into workable operating models and solution requirements.
Strong critical thinking skills to diagnose root causes, evaluate tradeoffs, and make sound decisions in ambiguous environments.
Comfort traveling or embedding with client teams.
At RSM, we offer a competitive benefits and compensation package for all our people. We offer flexibility in your schedule, empowering you to balance life’s demands, while also maintaining your ability to serve clients. Learn more about our total rewards at https://rsmus.com/careers/working-at-rsm/benefits.
All applicants will receive consideration for employment as RSM does not tolerate discrimination and/or harassment based on race; color; creed; sincerely held religious beliefs, practices or observances; sex (including pregnancy or disabilities related to nursing); gender; sexual orientation; HIV Status; national origin; ancestry; familial or marital status; age; physical or mental disability; citizenship; political affiliation; medical condition (including family and medical leave); domestic violence victim status; past, current or prospective service in the US uniformed service; US Military/Veteran status; pre-disposing genetic characteristics or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.
Accommodation for applicants with disabilities is available upon request in connection with the recruitment process and/or employment/partnership. RSM is committed to providing equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, interview, or otherwise participate in the recruiting process, please call us at 800-274-3978 or send us an email at careers@rsmus.com.
RSM does not intend to hire entry level candidates who will require sponsorship now OR in the future (i.e. F-1 visa holders). If you are a recent U.S. college / university graduate possessing 1-2 years of progressive and relevant work experience in a same or similar role to the one for which you are applying, excluding internships, you may be eligible for hire as an experienced associate.
RSM will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records. For those living in California or applying to a position in California, please click here for additional information.
At RSM, an employee’s pay at any point in their career is intended to reflect their experiences, performance, and skills for their current role. The salary range (or starting rate for interns and associates) for this role represents numerous factors considered in the hiring decisions including, but not limited to, education, skills, work experience, certifications, location, etc. As such, pay for the successful candidate(s) could fall anywhere within the stated range.
Compensation Range: $134,000 - $269,000Individuals selected for this role will be eligible for a discretionary bonus based on firm and individual performance.
