Amazon Launches New AI Engineering Division to Support Clients
SAN FRANCISCO, June 30 (Reuters) – Amazon announced on Tuesday that it is launching a new division within its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud unit. This team will feature forward-deployed engineers who will work closely with customers to accelerate their use of artificial intelligence (AI) software.
The company is investing an initial $1 billion in this initiative, aiming to send small teams of engineers to partner businesses for 45 days. Francessca Vasquez, AWS vice president of frontier AI engineering and services, explained that there is significant demand from customers looking for assistance in integrating AI into their workflows.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest from customers eager to enhance their operations with actionable AI,” said Vasquez in a pre-announcement interview. The forward-deployed engineers will not only assist directly alongside clients but will also help manage internal challenges and write code that meets production standards.
While Amazon is entering this field somewhat later than some competitors—like Palantir Technologies and Google Cloud, which have had similar teams for years—this new venture highlights a growing area in tech. According to a LinkedIn report, the demand for forward-deployed engineers has skyrocketed by 42 times between 2023 and 2025, with many experts deeming these roles essential in today’s job market.
AWS plans to grow this new division to include “thousands” of employees, hiring both from within Amazon and from outside sources. This comes amid broader job cuts at the company, where over 30,000 corporate positions have been eliminated since October.
The announcement was made during a two-day customer event in Washington, D.C., where the company may share more details about its government cloud services.
Vasquez noted that the success of this new unit will be measured by how quickly clients can develop products or acquire skills with the help of these engineers. “Our goal is to provide value to customers in timeframes that are faster than what they typically experience with traditional projects,” she stated.
Initial customers for this program include the National Basketball Association and the electronics firm Ricoh.
