Lead Forward Deployed Engineer (P4570)
Summary
Lead a team embedding AI coding tools into enterprise workflows, writing code alongside developers to improve AI-enabled SDLC practices and scale solutions across Kroger and 84.51°.
84.51° Overview:
84.51° is a retail data science, insights and media company. We help The Kroger Co., consumer packaged goods companies, agencies, publishers and affiliates create more personalized and valuable experiences for shoppers across the path to purchase.
Powered by cutting-edge science, we utilize first-party retail data from more than 62 million U.S. households sourced through the Kroger Plus loyalty card program to fuel a more customer-centric journey using 84.51° Insights, 84.51° Loyalty Marketing and our retail media advertising solution, Kroger Precision Marketing.
84.51° follows a 5‑day in‑office work schedule to support collaboration, alignment, and team connection.
Join us at 84.51°!
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Lead Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) (P4570)
We are seeking a Lead Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our AI Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) team and enable evolution of software development using AI tooling across Kroger and 84.51˚. The AI SDLC team provides access to Agentic Coding harnesses and agentic coding best practices in collaboration with Security, functional SDLC advisors, and development teams across the enterprise. The AI SDLC team also helps maintain an internal marketplace of Plugins for AI tooling, in tandem with teams offering other supporting services for AI Agents.
This role provides an opportunity to shape how thousands of developers adopt AI within a large enterprise. As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will spend time embedded directly with delivery teams and collaborating with platform and security stakeholders. Success for this role means accelerating AI-enabled SDLC - writing code alongside developers, finding where our AI tooling or policy falls short in their workflows, and turning that friction into platform improvements which scale across Kroger and 84.51˚.
This is a generalist Software Engineer role spanning the Software Development, Observability, DevOps, Security, and Developer Experience domains. This role is hands-on and is expected to both provide technical leadership and to produce code.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Exemplify best-practice for software delivery with Agentic Coding tools (such as Claude Code
- Regularly document and present learnings gleaned from embedded work or experiments to the AI Enablement organization
- Ensure accurate observability of adoption and usage patterns of agentic Coding tools using Datadog, Dynatrace or other related observability tools
- Bridge the gap between Platform offerings and User adoption or usage patterns, discovering and documenting any gaps in capability and experience
- Closely monitor and maintain our internal Plugin Marketplaces or similar to enhance usability of offerings
- Ensure we hit SLAs and lead incident management procedures
- Engage with other technology, infrastructure, and product teams as necessary to complete tasks
- Participate routinely in team on-call rotation and customer support during business hours
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE
- 4-year degree in a technology related discipline (Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, etc.) or equivalent work experience
- 5+ years of experience producing high-quality software on Agile development teams. (Python and Java preferred)
- 5+ years of experience with public cloud technologies (Azure preferred)
- 3+ years of experience in Platform Engineering, DevEx, or related roles
- Demonstrable experience working with Coding Agent Harnesses and related tooling in an enterprise setting (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, etc.)
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills with demonstrated experience leveraging these skills with technical teams and non-technical business units
- Desire to learn new technology and grow across different areas of technology
- Familiarity with AI-related concepts such as LLMs, Agents, Model Context Protocol (MCP)
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE
- Strong technical writing, documentation, or functional research skills
- Experience developing AI-powered features or applications
- Experience developing CI/CD workflows or other similar automations contributing to code safety and reliability
- Experience working with IAC systems, eg. Terraform/Spacelift, Kubernetes, Helm, etc.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize own workload with multiple responsibilities and adaptability to changes in those priorities
#LI-SSS
Pay Transparency and Benefits
- The stated salary range represents the entire span applicable across all geographic markets from lowest to highest. Actual salary offers will be determined by multiple factors including but not limited to geographic location, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, other job-related qualifications, and alignment with market data and cost of labor. In addition to salary, this position is also eligible for variable compensation.
- Below is a list of some of the benefits we offer our associates:
- Health: Medical: with competitive plan designs and support for self-care, wellness and mental health. Dental: with in-network and out-of-network benefit. Vision: with in-network and out-of-network benefit.
- Wealth: 401(k) with Roth option and matching contribution. Health Savings Account with matching contribution (requires participation in qualifying medical plan). AD&D and supplemental insurance options to help ensure additional protection for you.
- Happiness: Paid time off with flexibility to meet your life needs, including 5 weeks of vacation time, 7 health and wellness days, 3 floating holidays, as well as 6 company-paid holidays per year. Paid leave for maternity, paternity and family care instances.
As published by greenhouse
First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Resume/CV, Cover Letter, Location
- Preferred First Name
- What is your current permanent address? written answer
- What state do you permanently reside in? choose one
- Which work location would you prefer? choose any
- We have an in-office expectation for Monday-Friday and candidates must live in one of our hub locations or be willing to relocate (relocation assistance is provided). Please select one of the following that applies: choose one
- How did you first learn about 84.51° and this position?
- Why are you interested in 84.51° and this position? written answer
- What knowledge and skills do you bring to 84.51° to enable you for success? written answer
- Who is your current employer?
- Have you ever been employed by 84.51°? choose one
- Are you or have you ever been employed by dunnhumby? choose one
- Are you or have you ever been employed by Kroger Co.? choose one
- If your current employer is the Kroger Family of Companies, please list what department you are currently in, who your manager is, and state whether you've informed your manager of your application or not. Please input N/A if you do not currently work for Kroger. written answer · optional
- Are you bound by any commitments, contracts or agreements with your current or former employer(s) that might affect your employment with 84.51°? choose one
- Are you legally authorized to work in the U.S.? Proof of eligibility will be required before you can be employed. choose one
- Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H1B status)? choose one
- If you currently hold a visa, what type do you hold? choose one
- LinkedIn Profile
- Website or Portfolio optional
- California Applicant Privacy Notice choose one
- The essential functions of this position have been listed in the job posting. Can you perform the essential functions of the position for which you are applying as they are listed in the job posting with or without reasonable accommodation? choose one
- As part of the hiring process, applications who receive an offer of employment may be asked to submit to a drug screen test to detect the presence of certain drugs or their metabolites. Offers are conditioned on passage of that test. If you are asked to submit to a drug test and you refuse to be tested, or you do not pass, 84.51° will revoke any offer of employment. All drug tests will be conducted in accordance with applicable federal and state law and will be done by way of urine collection and screening. Therapeutic levels of medically prescribed or over the counter medicines may lead to positive test results. If offered a position, would you be willing to be screened for illegal drug use in the next 24 hours? choose one
- If offered a position, would you be willing to submit to a criminal background check, a previous employment verification check, and/or an education verification check? choose one