Principal Forward Deployed Engineer

Position Title: Principal Forward Deployed Engineer

Position Type: Regular - Full-Time

Grade: Grade 06

Requisition ID: 43592

In every role, McCainers are ambitious, curious, and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences - together. With a customer-first mindset, we make doing business with McCain easy.

About the role.

The FDE Practice Manager is responsible for setting and elevating the Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) capability across McCain, ensuring a high standard of technical excellence, business impact, and career development within the FDE community. This player-coach leadership role owns the portfolio FDE talent pool, personally contributes to strategic engagements, and serves as the accountable leader for FDE quality, talent development, staffing, and practice standards. Working closely with Artificial Intelligence, engineering, and business stakeholders, the FDE Practice Lead will champion best practices and drive measurable value through AI-enabled transformation initiatives.

What you’ll be doing.

• Establish and maintain the FDE competency framework, role definition, and development pathways across McCain.
• Build, coach, mentor, and develop the FDE community through structured feedback, training, and professional development initiatives.
• Lead hiring, talent calibration, workforce planning, and performance management activities for the portfolio FDE team.
• Own the allocation and assignment of FDE resources across business portfolios, aligning talent to business priorities and development objectives.
• Personally lead selected business engagements as a player-coach, providing hands-on guidance and in-flight coaching to FDE team members.
• Partner with Commercial, Marketing, and Manufacturing FDE leaders to build consistency in standards, practices, and outcomes across the broader FDE community.
• Collaborate with AI Platform & Engineering, Knowledge Engineering, AI Deployment & Enablement, and Governance leaders to drive alignment and delivery success.
• Develop and maintain FDE playbooks, engagement models, operating standards, and reusable methodologies that improve efficiency and business outcomes.
• Ensure all FDE-led initiatives adhere to McCain Responsible AI, security, governance, and risk management requirements.
• Represent the FDE practice with senior leadership teams, executive sponsors, and business stakeholders to drive alignment and adoption of AI-enabled solutions.

What you’ll need to be successful.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience managing complex business, customer, or technology engagements.
• 3+ years of experience leading a professional practice, center of excellence, or team of senior individual contributors.
• Demonstrated success operating as a player-coach, combining hands-on delivery with coaching and team development responsibilities.
• Proven ability to establish and maintain a high-performance culture among senior practitioners.
• Strong influencing skills and experience partnering with senior leaders without direct authority.
• Executive presence, customer focus, and the ability to navigate ambiguity in fast-changing environments.
• Track record of delivering measurable business outcomes and driving organizational adoption of new capabilities.
• Experience with AI transformation, consulting, forward-deployed engineering models, or related disciplines is preferred.
• Strong commitment to ethical and responsible AI practices, governance, and risk management.

About the team.

The FDE Practice Manager is part of the Artificial Intelligence organization and reports to the Vice President, Artificial Intelligence. This role leads the portfolio FDE talent pool and partners closely with AI Engineering, AI Platform & Engineering, Knowledge Engineering, AI Deployment & Enablement, Governance, and business stakeholders across multiple functions. The team operates through a player-coach model focused on developing talent, scaling best practices, and delivering measurable business outcomes through AI-enabled solutions.

About McCain.

Click Here to learn more about McCain and how we provide opportunities to make an impact that matters.

Leadership principles.

At McCain, our leadership principles guide how we engage with customers, collaborate as a team, and achieve success. We focus on understanding customer needs, driving innovation, empowering people, and taking ownership to clear obstacles and deliver results.

The McCain experience.

We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust, empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here, you’ll find opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Join us and experience why we’re better together.

Our purpose is grounded in building meaningful relationships. We’re big believers in the power of working together in person, it helps us stay connected, collaborate more effectively, and grow as a team. At the same time, we recognize the importance of flexibility. Most office-based roles follow a hybrid model, with the option to work remotely two days a week. There may be exceptions depending on the role and location, so we encourage you to speak with your recruiter for more details.

Compensation Package : $111,700.00 - $149,000.00 . CAD annually + Bonus Eligibility

The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience, skill set, education and training, and other organizational needs. This posting is for an existing vacancy.

Benefits: At McCain, we’re on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and well-being at the heart of what we do, every day. We understand and appreciate that each person’s needs are unique and ensure our benefits & well-being programs reflect that. Employees are eligible for the following benefits: health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug), retirement savings benefits, and leave support including medical, family and bereavement. Well-being programs include vacation and holidays, company-supported volunteering time, and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned with applicable law and can vary by work level, location, and nature of the role. Additional benefit detail available during the application process.

Your well-being matters to us, and we’re here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work — and at home.

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know, and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions.

Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain’s Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. McCain leverages AI in the hiring process, though all final decisions are made by humans. You can understand our approach to AI and how your personal information is being handled here.

Job Family: Information Technology

Location(s): CA - Canada : Ontario : Toronto

Company: McCain Foods (Canada)