We test for the job an FDE actually does.
Forward deployed work is part engineering and part customer work. A strong product engineer can fail at it, and a strong consultant can too. Our vetting checks both halves.
Four stages
The four stages of our vetting
Shipped-work review
Every engineer walks us through something they put into production for a customer or user: what was hard, what broke, and what they would change. Titles and badge counts do not substitute for this.
A realistic problem
A working session on a problem that looks like FDE work: unclear scope, imperfect data, a system to integrate with. We watch how they find the real problem, not whether they know a trick.
A customer conversation
FDEs spend half their time with people who are not engineers. Each candidate explains a technical trade-off to a non-technical stakeholder, and we judge whether that person would trust them.
References that match the claim
We check references with people the engineer actually deployed with, about the work they described.
What we look for
- Production code on someone else's infrastructure
- Work with users who were not engineers
- Finding the real problem behind a vague request
- Integrations with systems they did not design
- Clear explanations of trade-offs
What we do not screen on
- Puzzle-style coding tests
- Badge or certificate counts
- Brand-name employers on their own
- Years of experience as a proxy for ability
Do you use coding puzzles?
No. Puzzles test something different from forward deployed work. We use a working session on a problem that looks like the job: unclear scope, imperfect data and a system to integrate with.
Do certifications count?
They can show breadth, but they are not the bar. What an engineer has shipped, and how they explain it, counts for much more.
What do we see about each engineer?
A summary of the work they have shipped, the roles they fit, and their availability, before you decide whom to interview.
Hire FDEs
Tell us the problem. We will match the engineers.
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.