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Cognizant

AI Customer Engineer -Senior Director

Seattle, WA, US Director Posted May 10, 2026

Role Description

AI Customer Engineer - Senior Director About the role As a Senior AI Customer Engineer, you will make an impact by shaping and delivering innovative AI-driven solutions that help clients unlock business value. You will partner with sales, engineering, and industry experts to translate client challenges into scalable AI solutions, driving both technical design and commercial success.

You will be a valued member of the AI Sales Engineering team and work collaboratively with account teams, offering specialists, and client stakeholders to bring cutting-edge GenAI/AI use cases to life. In this role, you will: * Partner with business, industry, and offering teams to build the technology stack and solution approach for AI-led offerings * Lead client discovery and ideation sessions, translating ambiguous business challenges into solution hypotheses and conceptual architectures * Define end-to-end solution options, including architecture, data/ML needs, integration patterns, and partner components * Develop client-ready proposals, solution narratives, and demos, and lead technical discussions to advance deal progression * Lead and mentor a team of Sales Engineers, building capability and driving pursuit excellence across opportunities Work model

We believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a hybrid position requiring 3-4 days a week in a client or Cognizant office. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. What you need to have to be considered * Experience in AI/ML, GenAI, or solution architecture, with hands-on exposure to LLMs and enterprise AI solutions * Proven ability to shape and close complex technical deals, including proposals, SoWs, and solution design * Experience leading client workshops, ideation sessions, and technical presentations * Strong understanding of data, ML pipelines, integration architectures, and cloud ecosystems * Demonstrated ability to collaborate across sales, engineering, and delivery teams and influence stakeholders These will help you stand out * Experience building AI prototypes, MVPs, or POCs during sales cycles * Exposure to hyperscalers, partner ecosystems, and co-sell models * Track record of leading cross-functional pursuits and deal orchestration * Strong storytelling skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business outcomes * Experience leading or mentoring teams in a sales engineering or technical consulting environment

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.

Salary and Other Compensation :

The annual salary for this position is between $200,000-$2600,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate. Benefits This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program and stock awards, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans. Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to apply Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements: Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off 401(k) plan and contributions Long-term/Short-term Disability Paid Parental Leave Employee Stock Purchase Plan Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, based on applicable law.

About Forward Deployed Engineering

Forward Deployed Engineers are embedded directly with customers to build custom solutions, integrate products into existing infrastructure, and bridge the gap between product engineering and customer success. The role combines deep technical skills with the ability to operate in client environments and translate business requirements into working software.

Originally pioneered by Palantir, the FDE model has spread across AI, enterprise SaaS, and cloud infrastructure companies. FDEs write production code, architect integrations, train customer teams, and feed product insights back to the core engineering organization. At companies like OpenAI, Salesforce, and Databricks, FDE teams are treated as elite engineering units that can ship custom solutions in days rather than quarters.

Typical FDE stack: Python, TypeScript, SQL, REST/GraphQL APIs, cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure), and increasingly LLM APIs and AI orchestration frameworks. Strong communication and the ability to context-switch between technical and business conversations are as important as coding ability.

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