AI Developer - Forward Deployed Engineer

Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) is one of the world’s largest travel retailers and corporate travel managers. The company, which is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia has company-owned leisure and corporate travel business in 23 countries, spanning Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Europe, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Asia. FCTG also operates a global corporate travel management network, which extends to more than 90 countries through company-owned businesses and independent licensees. The company opened its first leisure travel shop in Sydney, Australia in 1982 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1995. Our purpose is to “open up the world for those who want to see”. Every day, we give people all around the world the opportunity to experience something really amazing – travel!

To learn more about Flight Centre Travel Group please click HERE

About the Opportunity

Join FCTG's AI Strategy & Integration (ASI) team and help shape the future of agentic AI in travel. As an AI Developer and Forward Deployed Engineer, you'll build headless AI capabilities for Sam and Mel, enabling seamless integration with external agents, platforms, and customer environments through emerging agent-to-agent protocols. You'll play a unique dual role, combining deep technical integration work with direct customer engagement, ensuring real-world success for enterprise AI deployments. This is an opportunity to work at the forefront of AI interoperability, customer innovation, and next-generation travel technology.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Build headless versions of Sam and Mel that expose booking, servicing, proactive, and profile capabilities to external agents and platforms.
Design APIs and services that can be driven through MCP, A2A, ACP, and CLI interfaces.
Develop wrappers and adapters that enable seamless protocol-based integrations.
Implement and maintain integrations across MCP, A2A, and ACP ecosystems.
Assess and design optimal interactions between agents, tools, and underlying systems.
Establish secure integration frameworks with robust access controls and governance.
Embed with enterprise customers to implement and optimize AI integrations in production environments.
Translate complex customer requirements into scalable technical solutions.
Serve as a trusted technical advisor to customer engineering and travel-management teams.
Partner with internal stakeholders to improve product capabilities based on customer feedback and deployment learnings.
Share technical best practices and lead solution discussions with customers and internal teams.
Contribute to a safe, inclusive, and accessible work environment where all Flighties feel welcomed, respected, and supported to thrive.
Other duties and tasks as assigned
Contribute to a safe, inclusive, and accessible work environment where all Flighties feel welcomed, respected, and supported to thrive

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

3-6 years of software engineering or AI engineering experience with strong integration expertise.
Deep hands-on experience with MCP and A2A frameworks.
Familiarity with ACP and broader agent-to-agent protocol ecosystems preferred.
Experience designing APIs and building protocol wrappers and adapters.
CLI development experience is advantageous.
Knowledge of LLM application patterns including RAG, tool calling, and agent orchestration.
Strong customer-facing and client-embedded implementation experience.
Excellent presentation and stakeholder communication skills.
Analytical mindset and ability to thrive in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.
Ability and willingness to travel to customer sites.
Located within a North American time zone.
Bonus experience within corporate travel or travel technology.
Experience with Claude Code, Langfuse, LangChain, Datadog, Python, JavaScript, AWS, Google Cloud, GitHub Actions, and/or Argo CD is beneficial.

Work Perks! - What’s in it for you:

FCTG is renowned internationally for having amazing perks and an even better culture. We understand that our people are our most valuable asset. It is the passion and dedication of our teams that keep the company on top of the industry ladder. It’s also why we offer some great employee benefits and perks outside of the norm.

Have fun: At the heart of everything we do at Flight Centre is a desire to have fun.
Reward & Recognition: Celebrate the success of yourself and others at our regular Buzz Nights and at the annual Global Gathering - You'll have to experience it to believe it!
Use your smarts: Our people use their quick thinking, expertise, and tenacity to always figure things out.
Love for travel: We were founded by people who wanted to travel and want others to do the same. That passion is something you can’t miss in our people or service.
Personal connections: We are a big business founded on personal relationships.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through initiatives like Diversity Day (paid leave to observe a holiday or cultural celebration of your choice) Employee Resource Groups (Racial Equity, Gender Equity, LGBTQ2IA+, Accessibility, Environmental Justice), DEI education initiatives, and equitable practices, including regular equity assessments and inclusive recruitment protocols.
A career, not a job: We offer genuine opportunities for people to grow and evolve
We back our people all the way: We are strongly committed to supporting every single employee in their professional and personal development.
Giving Back: Our Corporate Social Responsibility program supports nominated charities through volunteering and fundraising, complemented by our Office Environmental Program, LEED® Gold-certified office spaces, and 1 paid Volunteer Day per calendar year.

Benefits Include:

Paid Time Off: A comprehensive time off package, including up to 15 vacation days (prorated upon hire and increasing to 20 days after 2 years of employment), 5 sick days, 3 personal days, 1 Diversity Day, 1 Volunteer Day, and 9 recognized holidays annually.
Travel perks/discounts
Health & Wellness Programs and Employee Financial Wellness Services
National/International Award Nights and Conferences
Health benefits including, medical, dental, vision, gender affirming care, and fertility care
Insurance including hospital indemnity, AD&D, critical illness, long-term and short-term disability
Flexible Spending Accounts
Employee Assistance Program
401k program with partial match
Tuition Reimbursement Program
Employee Share Plan – Ability to purchase company stock on Australian Stock Exchange with partial company match, subject to terms and conditions
Global career opportunities in a network of brands and businesses

*Vacation, Personal, and Sick time accrual rates will vary based on full-time or part-time employee status. Recognized Holidays are either paid time off or, if required to work due to job requirements, holiday pay rate, and may vary depending on state.

Location – Houston, TX

Open to applicants located in Austin, TX.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for then APPLY NOW.

Internal Postings ONLY - Have questions about this opportunity? Reach out to our recruitment team at careers@us.flightcentre.com

For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary of $150,000 - $190,000. Base salary is dependent on relevant factors, including experience, geographic location, and job requirements.

EXTERNAL POSTINGS ONLY - We thank all candidates for their interest; however, only those selected to continue in the process will be contacted.

INTERNAL ONLY - Before applying to any internal position you must have been with the company or your current role for a minimum of 6 - 12 months and notify your leader prior to applying.

Our number one philosophy? Our people. Flight Center Travel Group USA’s promise is to provide an environment with equality of respect, dignity and opportunity for all our employees. We value an inclusive and supportive workplace which truly reflects the diversity of our society.

We are an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer committed to providing a barrier-free pathway throughout our recruitment process. We welcome accommodation requests to help make our hiring and onboarding experience as accessible as possible. Please advise us about accommodation needs at any point by contacting our Recruitment Team at careers@us.flightcentre.com

🌟 GBTA WINiT Top 50 Award Recipients (2018–2025)
💫 CHHR: 5-Star DE&I Employer (2023, 2024, 2026)
🌍 Seramount, FCTG Mexico: Member of the Global Inclusion Index (2023–2025)
📰 Newsweek: America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity (2024)
💛 Benefits Canada: Health/Wellness Program and Mental Health Program (2023, 2025)
✈️ OutThere Awards: Inclusive Travel Finalist (2025)
🏅 Canadian HR Awards: Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Awardee (2025)
🤝 2026 Disability Index®: World’s Top Disability Inclusive Business

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