Forward AI Engineer

Job Title: Embedded AI Engineer III (Forward Deployed)

Location: Hybrid – 3 days onsite in Arden Hills, MN

Duration: 6 Months – possible extension/hire

About the Position

As a Forward Deployed AI Engineer, you will serve as an embedded technical expert supporting the development, deployment, and sustainment of AI-enabled solutions across Boston Scientific's global supply chain and sourcing organizations. This role partners closely with other forward deployed AI engineers, internal product owners, subject matter experts, and end users to co-develop scalable solutions that deliver meaningful business outcomes.

The organization empowers its Forward Deployed AI Engineers to address high levels of complexity and own the composition of solutions. You will be responsible for translating workflow needs into production-ready applications, pipelines, ontology objects, validation logic, and technical documentation. This role is key in executing the executive-approved strategic supply chain and sourcing digital roadmap.

Purpose of the Role

Operate as Boston Scientific's forward deployment AI engineer to ensure key global supply chain and sourcing use cases move from requirements gathering through production deployment with clear ownership, technical documentation, validation, and ongoing support.

Approximately 70% coding and 30% stakeholder engagement.

Key Responsibilities

Solution Development & Technical Execution

• Embed directly with business operators to deeply understand workflows, constraints, and friction points; translate ambiguous problems into solvable technical opportunities
• Rapidly prototype and iterate solutions using ontologies, AI, and custom engineering; scale proven patterns into robust systems
• Design end-to-end workflows connecting ontology objects, data integrations, models, and applications into coherent operational solutions
• Deploy bleeding-edge AI capabilities in a regulated industry; build alongside external forward deployed engineers and technical experts
• Diagnose and resolve complex system behaviors across data pipelines, ontologies, applications, and deployment environments
• Own technical execution of assigned sourcing and supply chain use cases from requirements gathering through production deployment
• Build, configure, test, and refine application functionality in partnership with product owners, SMEs, and end users
• Partner with internal data teams to identify data gaps, pipeline issues, and application defects
• Contribute to reusable patterns, logic, and documentation to accelerate future use cases
• Business Validation & Stakeholder Partnership
• Serve as tactical connective tissue between business and engineering; convert operational insights into structured requirements and delivery priorities
• Facilitate clear feedback loops between technical teams and business stakeholders
• Validate application behavior and data logic with SMEs, end users, and product owners
• Support UAT, application readiness, production validation, and post-deployment issue resolution
• Champion operational excellence, maintainability, ontology coherence, security, and sustainable adoption

Persona Summary

• This person must be comfortable operating at the intersection of vision and execution. They need to think like a product leader, build like an engineer, challenge like a strategist, and motivate like a change agent. Energized by ambiguity, inspired by possibility, and disciplined enough to convert bold ideas into production-ready solutions.

Core Identity

• The ideal FDE sees sourcing not as disconnected categories and tools, but as an ecosystem waiting to be orchestrated. They understand that each application, feature, data object, and workflow is an instrument in a larger symphony. Their job is to bring those instruments together in harmony through simplicity, creativity, and feasibility.

Signature Traits

• Visionary Systems Thinker – Sees the broader operating ecosystem; connects category strategy, sourcing workflows, data architecture, AI, and business outcomes into a coherent future-state vision
• Strong Business Acumen in Sourcing – Understands sourcing as a business discipline; speaks the language of sourcing users, category teams, procurement operations, and enterprise systems
• Concept-to-Masterpiece Builder – Takes rough ideas and transforms them into tangible, exceptional solutions; moves from ambiguity to deployed production systems
• Leader Without Authority – Leads through clarity, confidence, and momentum; brings structure to uncertainty and energy to complexity
• Creative Critical Thinker – Challenges assumptions, pressure-tests ideas, and produces creative solutions while managing risk
• Self-Starter With Ownership Mentality – Identifies what needs to happen, creates a path, and drives outcomes from idea to production

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Software Engineering degree required
• 1-2 years of intense software engineering experience
• Proven track record as an expert-level individual contributor
• Proficiency in TypeScript, Node.js, React, Next.js (or similar frameworks), and Python
• Hands-on experience building with LLMs and AI agents in production systems
• Deep understanding of repository architecture and management
• Familiarity with developer tools ecosystem (VSCode extensions, CLIs, third-party integrations)
• Experience translating ambiguous business requirements into technical specifications, validation logic, and deployable solutions
• Strong problem-solving skills; comfortable operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
• Ability to document technical decisions, design logic, assumptions, dependencies, and support requirements
• Demonstrated ability to partner across technical, business, and external consulting teams

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience in supply chain, sourcing, procurement, contract management, invoice management, supplier management, or compliance workflows
• Familiarity with Ariba, SAP, ERP platforms, data warehouses, or related procurement/supply chain applications
• Experience supporting production applications, troubleshooting data issues, and validating user-facing application behavior
• Exposure to ontology design, object-oriented data modeling, workflow automation, or AI-enabled business applications
• Experience working in agile, sprint-based, or product-oriented delivery environments
• Ability to communicate technical tradeoffs clearly to business stakeholders and leadership

Quality Systems Duties and Responsibilities

• Build Quality into all aspects of their work by maintaining compliance to all quality requirements.