A good job description is the fastest way to get the right applicants and the slowest way to fill the role if it is wrong. This template is a starting point. Edit it to describe your problem, not a wish list.
The template
Forward Deployed Engineer
About the work. You will work directly with [customers or internal teams] to get [the product or AI system] running inside their environment: on their systems, with their data, under their security rules.
What you will do
- Scope problems with users and business owners, and turn them into working software.
- Write production code in the customer's environment, and integrate it with their systems.
- Take work from first prototype to stable production, including monitoring and handover.
- Feed what you learn back to our product and engineering teams.
What you bring
- Production code shipped for real users, in [languages].
- Experience integrating with systems you did not design.
- Comfort with unclear scope, and the judgment to find the real problem.
- The ability to explain technical trade-offs to people who are not engineers.
Nice to have. [Industry] experience; [cloud or data platform]; experience with [AI or agent tooling].
Travel and location. [Remote, hybrid or on site]; up to [N]% travel to customer sites.
Pay. [Salary range]. [Equity and benefits.]
Equal opportunity. [Your equal opportunity statement.]
Required versus nice-to-have
Keep the required list short: shipping production code, integration experience, comfort with ambiguity, and clear communication. Put specific languages, platforms and industries under nice-to-have unless the work truly cannot start without them. Every extra requirement removes good candidates.
Travel and on site
Be specific. Forward deployed postings commonly state travel expectations, from up to about 25%[1] to up to 50%[2]. A candidate who cannot travel will drop out late if you leave it vague.
Pay range
Several US states and cities require pay ranges in job postings, and candidates increasingly expect them anyway. Check the rules where you hire. Our guide to what a forward deployed engineer costs summarizes public ranges.
Mistakes that keep FDE roles open
- Asking for one person to be an expert in everything.
- Describing a product engineering job and calling it forward deployed.
- Leaving travel, location or pay vague.
- Screening with algorithm puzzles instead of real-shaped problems.
Next: interview questions to ask.
Sources
- Palantir, Forward Deployed Software Engineer posting, accessed 18 Sep 2026. jobs.lever.co
- OpenAI careers, forward deployed engineer postings, accessed 18 Sep 2026. jobs.ashbyhq.com