Role
Forward Deployed Engineer
A software engineer who builds AI applications, agents and the integrations around them, on your infrastructure and with your tools, and stays until they run in production.
What they do
The work, in plain terms
Builds on your systems
Writes production code in your environment, against your real data and APIs.
Ships agents and tools
Agents, tools and workflows that connect models to the systems people use.
Integrates
Connects to the enterprise systems the application has to read from and write to.
Works with users
Sits with the people who will use the result, and changes it when they push back.
Skills we match on
The skills behind the title
We match on what an engineer has used in production, not on a keyword list. These are the skills that come up most for this role; your brief decides which matter.
- Python
- TypeScript
- LLM APIs
- Agent frameworks
- Model Context Protocol
- APIs and integration
- Cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
- SQL
- Containers
When you need one
- An AI application that works on a laptop but not in your environment
- Agents that need to reach real enterprise systems
- A backlog of integrations nobody owns
Hiring options
Hire this role the way that fits the work
Contract
An FDE embedded in your team for the length of the work. Best when you have a defined program and need the skills now, without adding headcount.
- You direct the work day to day
- Billed for time worked
- Extend or end as the work changes
Contract to hire
Start on contract, then hire the engineer onto your team. Best when you want a permanent forward deployed capability and want to see the fit first.
- Work together before committing
- Conversion terms agreed up front
- Keeps the knowledge in house
Direct hire
We find the engineer. You employ them from day one. Best when you are building an FDE team of your own and need help finding the people.
- Your employee from the first day
- One placement fee
- We run the search and first screens
FDE hub
A deployment strategist and a small team of engineers. Best when the work needs business and engineering skills at once, with one point of accountability.
- Strategist plus two or more engineers
- Sized to the problem
- One team, one plan
Other roles
Often hired alongside
Forward Deployed AI Engineer
Makes model behavior reliable in production: evaluation, retrieval, guardrails.
About this roleForward Deployed Data Engineer
Gets your data into a state AI can use: pipelines, quality, access.
About this roleForward Deployed Infrastructure Engineer
Deploys and runs AI platforms in hard environments: private, on-premises, regulated.
About this roleDeployment Strategist
Finds the problem worth solving, sets the measure, and drives adoption.
About this roleHire FDEs
Need a Forward Deployed Engineer?
Someone who understands forward deployed work reads every brief and replies with a view on the engineers you need, how many, and the hiring option that fits.