Sr. Frontier Lead Developer/Architect (Remote)

ABOUT THE ROLE

The mid-senior architect of the Frontier pod. Having graduated from hands-on engineering, the Master owns the design and governance of agentic systems within a domain, sets the quality bar for the pod's build, and is the principal technical advisor to both the pod and the client. Translates complex requirements into scalable AI solutions, governs orchestration and quality, and mentors Frontier Engineers. The connective tissue between engineering execution and enterprise architecture. Works across the three Frontier axes (technical depth, domain expertise and business mindset), asking what the function should look like in an AI era before deciding what to build, and ties the pod's design to the customer outcome.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Design and deploy custom agents and agentic workflows; govern permissions, context-sharing and data access.

Architect agentic deployments on enterprise platforms; design trust-layer and cross-agent governance.

Define AI orchestration architecture and state, tool-calling and failure-mode patterns for the domain.

Design agentic quality-assurance frameworks: agentic test orchestration and synthetic-data strategy.

Engineer enterprise knowledge bases, ontologies and retrieval pipelines for agent grounding at scale.

Translate complex domain requirements into AI functional specifications for the pod.

WHAT YOU BRING

Core skills: Agentic system architecture, Enterprise agent platforms (Copilot Studio/Agentforce), AI orchestration & state-management patterns, Agentic test-framework design, Knowledge graph & ontology engineering, RAG-at-scale & grounding strategy, MCP/A2A agent protocols, AI security & access controls, Technical advisory & client engagement.

Competencies: AI-Native Solution Architecture, Agentic Engineering & Orchestration, Context & Retrieval Engineering, AI Quality & Evaluation Design, Technical Leadership & Advisory, Domain Fluency & Contextual Judgment, Business-Outcome Orientation.

ENTRY AND GROWTH

Experience: 7-15 yrs delivery with deep AI-systems design experience.

Entry: Demonstrate independent agentic-system design and domain governance; pass the Frontier CoE assessment at Specialist level.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Builds, ships and permanently owns AI-native systems end to end in a small Frontier pod, and is measured on the customer outcome the pod commits to, not on technical throughput alone.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The mid-senior architect of the Frontier pod. Having graduated from hands-on engineering, the Master owns the design and governance of agentic systems within a domain, sets the quality bar for the pod's build, and is the principal technical advisor to both the pod and the client. Translates complex requirements into scalable AI solutions, governs orchestration and quality, and mentors Frontier Engineers. The connective tissue between engineering execution and enterprise architecture. Works across the three Frontier axes (technical depth, domain expertise and business mindset), asking what the function should look like in an AI era before deciding what to build, and ties the pod's design to the customer outcome. Brings a strong software engineering foundation with hands-on experience in one or more technologies such as Java, .NET, Spring Boot, Angular, Node.js, or similar modern development frameworks.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Design and deploy custom agents and agentic workflows; govern permissions, context-sharing and data access.

• Architect agentic deployments on enterprise platforms; design trust-layer and cross-agent governance.

• Define AI orchestration architecture and state, tool-calling and failure-mode patterns for the domain.

• Design agentic quality-assurance frameworks: agentic test orchestration and synthetic-data strategy.

• Engineer enterprise knowledge bases, ontologies and retrieval pipelines for agent grounding at scale.

• Translate complex domain requirements into AI functional specifications for the pod.

• Apply software engineering principles and integrate AI solutions with enterprise applications using technologies such as Java, .NET, Spring Boot, Angular, Node.js, APIs and microservices.

WHAT YOU BRING

Core skills: Agentic system architecture, Enterprise agent platforms (Copilot Studio/Agentforce), AI orchestration & state-management patterns, Agentic test-framework design, Knowledge graph & ontology engineering, RAG-at-scale & grounding strategy, MCP/A2A agent protocols, AI security & access controls, Technical advisory & client engagement, Software Engineering/Application Development experience with Java, .NET, Spring Boot, Angular, Node.js or similar technologies, APIs and microservices.

Competencies: AI-Native Solution Architecture, Agentic Engineering & Orchestration, Context & Retrieval Engineering, AI Quality & Evaluation Design, Technical Leadership & Advisory, Domain Fluency & Contextual Judgment, Business-Outcome Orientation, Software Engineering & Application Development.

ENTRY AND GROWTH

Experience: 7-15 yrs delivery with deep AI-systems design experience and a strong software engineering/application development background.

Entry: Demonstrate independent agentic-system design and domain governance; pass the Frontier CoE assessment at Specialist level.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Builds, ships and permanently owns AI-native systems end to end in a small Frontier pod, and is measured on the customer outcome the pod commits to, not on technical throughput alone.

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.

Salary and Other Compensation:

Applications will be accepted until Nov 05, 2026.

The annual salary for this position is between $90,000 - $170,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

• 401(k) plan and contributions

• Long-term/Short-term Disability

• Paid Parental Leave

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.