Staff Forward Deployment Engineer - Merriam, KS

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YOUR OPPORTUNITY

We have an exciting opportunity for an Staff Forward Deployment Engineer at our Merriam, KS office. The Staff Forward Deployment Engineer is the most senior contributor in the Staff Forward Deployment Engineer track. Anchored on a strategic AI initiative or a multi-domain AI portfolio, this role is build-first. The Staff Forward Deployment Engineer is hands-on build using AI-Assisted Development, orchestrating delivery (running standups, coordinating across business and IT teams, clarifying priority, and confirming direction with leadership), and setting and operationalizing the technical patterns and standards the Forward Deployment Engineer team follows. The Staff Forward Deployment Engineer leads through the work, shipping the hardest, highest-leverage parts of an initiative and turning what they build into reusable patterns for the rest of the team.

ABOUT US

At Seaboard Foods, we create the most sought-after pork. A top U.S. pork producer/processor and leading exporter to 30+ countries, we are committed to bringing excellence to the table, seeking a better way to produce wholesome pork and connect every step between our farms and family tables. More than 5,400 employees in five states work on our farms, feed mills, and processing plant to produce Prairie Fresh pork, ensuring the well-being of our animals, the environment, our employees, and the communities we call home. We are a Fortune 500 employer, recently nominated by the Business Journal as one of the "Best Places to Work", representing our dynamic culture, where our employees can contribute and understand why they matter.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Performs the full set of Forward Deployment Engineer duties, with additional expectations that distinguish this level. The work breaks down into three buckets:

* Hands-on build (60 to 80% of time)

• Own end-to-end delivery of the most complex parts of a strategic AI initiative, including scoping, design, build, test, and rollout. AI-Assisted Development is the primary delivery mode, with Pro-code used where it is not enough.
• Embed within customer teams to acquire deep domain knowledge, iterate in tight feedback loops, and ship working software that drives measurable business outcomes.
• Carry the hardest technical work in the initiative (integrations, ambiguous data problems, novel agent or workflow patterns) and demonstrate that AI-Assisted Development can deliver it at production quality.
• Drive adoption hands-on through demos, working prototypes, and embedded support during rollout; treat working software as the primary status mechanism.
• Stay current on emerging AI tools, agent platforms, and modern delivery practices, and pull proven patterns into the work as quickly as they earn their place.
• Partner with Application Support Engineers to confirm releases are operationally ready, with monitoring, runbooks, deployment approach, and escalation paths in place before go-live.

* Orchestrating delivery (10 to 20% of time)

• Run the day-to-day cadence for the initiative, including standups, working sessions, and lightweight planning (milestones, dependencies, cutovers) that keeps work moving and dependencies visible.
• Coordinate across business areas and IT teams (Architecture, Platform Engineering, Data Platform, Application Support, and external vendors) to surface and resolve blockers before they slow delivery.
• Clarify priority when the queue is ambiguous: pull the right people into the room, force the trade-off conversation, and confirm direction with the sponsoring leader so the team can keep building.
• Coordinate with other FDEs on cross-initiative dependencies and capacity trade-offs that span beyond a single FDE's scope.

* Setting technical standards (10 to 20% of time)

• Set reusable patterns and standards for AI-Assisted Development (prompt structure, code organization, testing, and review practices) so the FDE team converges on what works.
• Lead design and implementation reviews across the FDE team to raise quality and reduce long-term support burden.
• Mentor FDEs and Associate FDEs through pairing, code review, and quick coaching moments embedded in the work.
• Document the rationale for tool and pattern choices so others can follow without rediscovering the path; retire patterns that no longer work.

CORE COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESS IN ALL ROLES: instills trust, communicates effectively, action-oriented, ensures accountability, and drives results.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Required:

• 5+ years of technical delivery experience, with 2+ years in a senior or lead capacity (technical lead, staff engineer, or equivalent).
• Track record shipping production software hands-on, including within the past 12 months. This role is build-first.
• Hands-on proficiency with AI-Assisted Development and Pro-code; comfort choosing the right tool for the problem and willingness to keep both skill sets sharp.
• Demonstrated ability to set technical patterns and standards that other engineers adopt.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-team initiatives where coordination across business and IT functions was the differentiator in success.
• Strong stakeholder management and facilitation skills (alignment, trade-offs, prioritization), with comfort engaging at the leadership level both verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in ambiguity and drive outcomes with incomplete information, rapidly iterating toward the right solution.
• Ability to break large problems into small deliverable increments, maintaining momentum and transparency through frequent releases.
• Experience working through phases of solutions development: Design, Build, and Test.
• Understanding of business operations, process improvement, and transformation drivers.
• Ability and motivation to learn new technologies and apply them to business needs.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to adapt detail level to the audience.

Preferred:

• Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or a related field.
• Experience with a strategic AI platform.
• Experience in manufacturing, agriculture, food & beverage, or other process-driven industries.
• Experience performing application reviews and design reviews against defined standards.
• Exposure to data modeling, data engineering, and/or modern cloud platforms.

Background supporting business operations, process improvement, or digital

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The physical and work demands listed here represent those an employee should possess to successfully perform the job's essential functions. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Primarily an office environment with some need to work in the field.
• The hours and days of work are established by departmental needs and at the discretion of management.

WHY SEABOARD FOODS?

• Medical, vision & dental benefits upon hire
• 401K with company match
• Paid Time Off & Company Holidays
• Wellness Program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee pork purchase program

For a complete list of our benefits please visit our career site: https://www.seaboardfoods.com/careers/why-sbf/

Seaboard Foods is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, gender identity, protected veterans' status, status as a disabled individual, or any other status protected by law.