Sr Staff 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. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That's what we do.

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you'll get flexibility that's real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters-and so do you.

Role Overview
We are seeking a Senior Staff Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to lead complex enterprise engagements across UKG's HCM, Payroll, and Workforce Management ecosystem.

This role operates as a principal architect and strategic advisor, combining enterprise systems design, agentic AI architecture, and hands-on engineering.
You will embed with strategic customers to deliver production-grade integrations, AI-enabled workflows, and reusable platform patterns that accelerate time-to-value and expansion.

This is not traditional consulting - you will ship production systems and influence product and platform direction.

Why This Role Matters
You will directly shape how enterprise customers adopt UKG's platform and AI capabilities.
This role drives customer outcomes, platform leverage, and product evolution - forming a critical link between enterprise reality and engineering strategy.

Key Responsibilities
Lead architecture for complex enterprise ecosystems across HCM, Payroll, WFM, ERP, IAM, and adjacent systems
Design and deliver production-grade integrations, automation, and AI-enabled workflows
Advise customers on agentic AI adoption, including orchestration, decisioning, and human-in-the-loop systems
Translate business problems into scalable architectures combining systems + AI capabilities
Act as a trusted technical advisor to CIO/CTO-level stakeholders
Drive reusable accelerators, templates, and reference architectures
Mentor and guide other FDEs; set technical standards and best practices
Influence product roadmap through structured field feedback

Agentic AI Leadership:
Guide enterprise customers on safe, compliant, and scalable AI adoption
Design and prototype agentic workflows integrated with enterprise systems
Identify high-value use cases for AI-driven automation and orchestration
Balance AI innovation with enterprise constraints (security, governance, auditability)
Contribute reusable AI patterns and reference implementations to the platform

Qualifications
10+ years in software engineering, architecture, or distributed systems
Deep experience with enterprise integrations (APIs, event-driven systems, data pipelines, IAM)
Strong cloud architecture experience (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform)
Experience building production-grade systems in enterprise environments
Strong customer-facing and executive communication skills
Ability to operate autonomously and lead ambiguous, high-impact initiatives

AI / Systems Expertise:
Experience with AI-enabled systems, LLMs, copilots, or automation frameworks
Familiarity with agentic AI concepts (agents, orchestration, tool use)
Understanding of enterprise AI constraints (security, privacy, compliance)
Ability to translate AI strategy into production-ready architectures
Strong systems thinking across human + AI + system interactions

Success Metrics:
Reduction in enterprise Time-to-Value
Successful, scalable production deployments
Reusable assets and AI patterns adopted across customers
Expansion ARR influenced
Executive-level customer satisfaction

Company Overview:

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry - because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.

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UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email

The pay range for this position is $145,600 to $209,300. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG's benefits and rewards at