Forward Deployed Software Engineer

Software Engineer / Forward Deployed Engineer Location: Bristol - hybrid, approximately 1–2 days per week in the office Salary: Up to £80,000 per annum Employment type: Permanent, full-time About the role Due to continued growth, our client is expanding its UK engineering team and looking for Software Engineers to join its Bristol office. This is a little different from a traditional software development position. As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you’ll combine hands-on engineering with client-facing consultancy, working directly with clients to understand their challenges, shape practical solutions and take projects from initial idea through to production. The role is approximately a 50/50 split between technical delivery and consultative work. You don’t need to specialise in one particular technology, but you should have strong technical foundations, enjoy solving unfamiliar problems and be comfortable communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. What you’ll be doing Working directly with clients to understand their challenges and gather requirementsTranslating unclear or ambitious ideas into realistic technical solutionsDesigning, building, deploying and supporting software in productionDeveloping full-stack applications, APIs and cloud-based servicesContributing to architecture and wider technical decisionsUsing AI and automation to improve products and development workflowsExplaining technical concepts, limitations and trade-offs clearlyCollaborating with engineers, client teams and senior stakeholdersTaking ownership of delivery from discovery through to implementationLearning new technologies and adapting to different projects quickly What we’re looking for Commercial experience as a Software Engineer, Full-Stack Developer or within a similar technical roleExperience delivering software beyond the prototype stageStrong programming experience in languages such as Python, Java, TypeScript or JavaScriptExposure to cloud platforms, APIs, databases and modern development practicesThe ability to work across different technologies rather than within one narrow specialismStrong communication and stakeholder-management skillsConfidence working with clients or non-technical colleaguesA solutions-focused approach and the ability to work with changing or incomplete requirementsExperience taking ownership of technical projects or features Desirable experience Building AI, LLM, RAG or agent-based applicationsUsing AI coding tools to automate or improve development workflowsCloud infrastructure, DevOps, CI/CD, Docker or KubernetesConsultancy, professional services or customer-facing engineeringExperience within healthcare, life sciences or another regulated environment Why join? Work on varied digital and AI-led projects for leading healthcare and life-sciences clientsCombine technical engineering with meaningful client interactionJoin a growing UK engineering team with the opportunity to make an early impactWork within a flexible and trust-based hybrid environmentGain exposure to different technologies, challenges and client organisationsDevelop towards technical leadership, architecture or consulting Interview process The process consists of an initial screening conversation, a take-home technical assessment and two interview stages covering technical ability and client-facing problem-solving. If you’re a Software Engineer who enjoys building solutions but wants more ownership, variety and client interaction, we’d love to hear from you.