Principal Forward Deployed Engineer (relocation to Latvia)

We are looking for a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer to join our team with eventual relocation to Latvia. EPAM is renowned for delivering cutting-edge technological solutions to transform businesses worldwide.

We are building AI-native solutions for our clients - products where LLM and its harness are the core of the value. This is a builder's role: you and your team are responsible for building agentic systems, writing the production code, and standing up the evals and observability. You will work closely with SMEs and end-users to understand where the real value lies, and you design the feedback loops.

The deadline for submission is 01.12.2026.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and ship end-to-end AI-native systems including agents, workflows, RAG and integration harnesses
• Write production-grade Python code for integrations, APIs, data access and deployment
• Work directly with subject matter experts and end-users through interviews, user acceptance testing and workflow observations
• Engage early in projects to shape use cases and check technical feasibility
• Build evaluation pipelines and use them to prove system utility
• Design for failure in the agent loop by implementing retries, model fallbacks, cost limits and human-in-the-loop actions
• Capture domain expertise and repeatable workflows to ensure success across engagements. Troubleshoot and resolve technical challenges in collaboration with the broader team
• Ensure adherence to engineering excellence standards including test-driven development and continuous integration practices

Requirements

• 7+ years of software engineering experience with a strong track record of building production AI and LLM applications
• Expert-level Python skills and solid software engineering fundamentals
• Hands-on experience with agentic frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph or Semantic Kernel and major LLM providers
• Strong RAG and retrieval skills including vector databases, embeddings, hybrid search and context management
• Production deployment experience on major cloud platforms like AWS, Azure or GCP with containerization and CI/CD
• Proven experience evaluating generative AI quality using custom evaluation frameworks and observability tools
• Proven capability to work closely with clients, lead discovery conversations and explain technical trade-offs to diverse audiences
• Strong agent-design judgment and sound engineering judgment under ambiguity to balance speed, quality and scope
• C1 level English language proficiency
• An academic degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related field

Nice to have

• Experience designing experiments, A/B testing and iterating on AI products against real user behavior
• Strong background in NLP, Data Science or applied machine learning with experience moving models into production
• Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent-to-Agent (A2A), Agent Skills and emerging agent standards
• Experience with enterprise AI platforms such as AWS Bedrock AgentCore, Databricks Genie or Microsoft Foundry
• Exposure to AI governance, security and compliance including guardrails and prompt-injection prevention

Benefits

• Engineering Heritage: Best-in-class experts sharing a culture of engineering excellence and tackling complex engineering challenges for over 30 years.
• Advanced Tech Stack: Innovative projects where you can apply or enhance your expertise in Cloud, Data, AI, and other emerging technologies.
• World-Class Clients: Work closely with 340+ of the Forbes Global 2000 on creating disruptive solutions that make a global impact.
• Professional Growth: Exceptional support for career development with comprehensive resources for upskilling or reskilling in pioneering practices.
• GenAI Community: Strong AI competencies with 600+ experts across 55+ locations driving GenAI-enabled transformation journeys.
• Entrepreneurial Culture: If you're passionate and dedicated to improving business transformation, we provide the support you need to bring your ideas to life.
• Hybrid Setup: The flexibility to work from any location in Latvia, whether it's your home or our office in Riga.
• Other Benefits: Additional vacation and trust days, private health insurance, Employee Stock Purchase Plan and more.