Junior Forward Deployed Engineer

Job Description

Most GenAI never leaves the demo. We hire for the people who get it into production, and into daily use. The Forward Deployed Engineer closes that gap: a field engineer who builds GenAI applications (agents, RAG pipelines, copilots) and makes sure they get adopted, embedded in daily workflows, and deliver measurable value. You quickly grasp a client's operational challenges, design a tailored response, deploy it, and bring teams along in the transformation. 

You will operate at the intersection of Data Science, ML/Platform Engineering, and client delivery, helping customers find the right level of sophistication, semantic search, RAG, agents, or fine-tuning, deliver measurable ROI in the most cost-effective way. Beyond crafting prompts, you will design and build robust, scalable products: benchmarking candidate Foundation Models across the model stack (from GPT-x, Claude, and Gemini to edge models like Mistral), rapidly iterating prototypes, and validating ideas directly with users using frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, and pgvector. 

We work closely with leading technology partners including Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, Databricks, and AWS. In practice that means early access to new model releases, direct engineering channels to the labs, funded certifications, and the freedom to pick the right tool, not just the one you're locked into. 

What you'll actually do 

• Sit with a client’s team, learn where AI earns its keep (and where it doesn’t), and help turn that into something you can ship.

• Design and implement LLM-based systems: autonomous agents, RAG pipelines, workflow automation, and conversational interfaces.
   
• Integrate these solutions into clients’ existing environments (APIs, databases, business tools), complying with applicable regulations (GDPR, EU AI Act, model licenses, etc.).
   
• Get people to actually use what you built: contribute to training, win over sceptics, and iterate until it sticks rather than sits.
   
• Work closely with stakeholders to refine solutions in production and measure their impact.
   
• Learn to communicate with both engineers and business leaders, building the credibility to be trusted by both over time.

Qualifications

You'll thrive here if 

• You hold a Master’s degree in computer science, AI, or a related technical field. What matters most is that you can build things, so strong projects alongside your degree count just as much.
   
• You have 0 to 2 years of professional experience. We hire for potential, so recent graduates with serious LLM projects are encouraged to apply.
   
• You have hands-on experience building with LLMs, through internships, research, your master’s thesis, or personal projects: prompting, RAG, fine-tuning, agent workflows, and testing model outputs (for example with evaluation sets and regression tests).
   
• You write Python clean enough to hand to a colleague, and you’re eager to pick up whatever language a client’s stack requires.
   
• You’re comfortable working with APIs and connecting different systems.
   
• You understand what makes a result useful to a client. You know how to prioritize and deliver value quickly.
   
• You enjoy explaining technical ideas to non-technical people, and you listen well enough to bring them along on a transformation.
   
• You want to grow fast, take on real responsibility over time, and learn from experienced colleagues in a dynamic, fast-growing AI practice.
   
• You’re fluent in English, French and Dutch. German is a strong advantage, and if you’re not there yet, we’ll support you in learning it.

Bonus points for 

• Experience with applied AI frameworks (LangChain, LlamaIndex, OpenAI SDK, Anthropic SDK, etc.). 

• Experience deploying and operating solutions in a cloud environment (AWS, Azure, or GCP). 

• Exposure to MLOps/LLMOps practices (CI/CD for models, prompt versioning, evaluation pipelines, observability). 

• Strong understanding of vector databases and related concepts (e.g., embeddings, neural networks, latent space).

Additional Information

Why join Sia 

• You ship. Engagements are measured in weeks, not quarters, and your work goes live in front of real users, with the client's team, not behind a glass wall. 

• Range without job-hopping. You will touch several industries and several architectures a year, which is the fastest way to build judgement about what actually works. 

• A practice that is growing, not maintaining. The AI practice is young enough that you shape how it delivers, and senior enough that you are never the only person who has solved the problem before. 

• Direct exposure. You sit with business decision-makers from day one, the fastest route to seniority we know. 

What we offer 

• A competitive salary with great advantages, like mobility budget/company car, hospital insurance, performance -related bonus,...

• A dedicated learning budget, funded partner certifications (Anthropic, AWS, Databricks), and paid conference time. 

• Hybrid working from our Amsterdam office, with real flexibility on where the deep work happens. 

• A mentor from day one and a clear path from delivery to lead engineer or client-facing architect. 

 

We are unable to provide a work permit for this position.

Sia is an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, remuneration, or discipline, are based solely on performance, competence, conduct, or business needs. 

Sia is an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, remuneration, or discipline, are based solely on performance, competence, conduct, or business needs. 

Company Description

Sia is a next-generation, global management consulting group. Founded in 1999, we were born digital. Today our strategy and management capabilities are augmented by data science, enhanced by creativity and driven by responsibility. We’re optimists for change and we help clients initiate, navigate and benefit from transformation. We believe optimism is a force multiplier, helping clients to mitigate downside and maximize opportunity. With expertise across a broad range of sectors and services, our 3,000 consultants serve clients worldwide from 48 locations in 19 countries. Our expertise delivers results. Our optimism transforms outcomes.