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The Hottest Job In AI Right Now. Here's Who's Hiring.
The Forward Deployed Engineer is the role the AI era created — and every major AI company is now racing to hire them.
800% job growth in 12 months. $210K median salary. Most engineers still don't know it exists.
What is a Forward Deployed Engineer?
A Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is a software engineer who embeds directly inside a customer's environment to build, integrate, and ship AI systems into production.
Not a consultant. Not a solutions engineer. Not support. An FDE writes production code in the customer's stack, owns the outcome end-to-end, and reports back patterns that shape the product roadmap.
Palantir invented the role in the early 2010s — they called them "Deltas." Until 2016, Palantir had more Deltas than software engineers. The premise: customers don't need more features. They need an engineer who can make the product work inside their messy, fragmented, politically complex environment.
AI companies figured this out and ran with it. Job postings for FDE roles rose 800%+ between January and September 2025. Average total compensation sits at $210K–$238K. Staff-level FDEs at top AI labs clear $630K+.
The skill set: Production engineering + customer-facing communication. Most engineers have one. FDEs have both. That's why companies can't hire them fast enough.
Is This Role Right for You?
FDE is the right move if:
You're a strong engineer who also loves talking to customers
You want founder-level ownership without starting a company
You want to work on the hardest, most novel problems in AI
You're comfortable with ambiguity and thrive without a playbook
It's probably not the right fit if:
You want to stay heads-down in a codebase without customer interaction
You prefer defined scope and predictable work
You dislike travel (some roles require 25–50%)
The FDE career path is still being written. The engineers who join now will define what the role becomes.
Who's Hiring Right Now
1. OpenAI
What they do: The world's leading AI lab. FDEs embed with OpenAI's most strategic enterprise and government customers to deploy frontier models in production.
Why join: Colin Jarvis built OpenAI's FDE team from 2 engineers to 10+ in under a year. This is a founding-era role at the most consequential AI company on earth. Roles: 10+ open — SF, NYC, Paris, Dublin, Tokyo, Government Multiple roles available 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/openai (search "Forward Deployed")
2. Anthropic
What they do: AI safety company behind Claude. Calls FDEs "Applied AI Engineers" — embeds with enterprise customers in regulated industries to deploy Claude in production.
Why join: Anthropic's FDEs operate at the frontier of enterprise AI deployments. One of the most mission-driven FDE roles in the market. Roles: Multiple locations — Boston, Chicago, NYC, Seattle, SF, DC 🔗 job-boards.greenhouse.io/anthropic/jobs/4985877008
3. Cohere
What they do: Enterprise AI platform competing directly with OpenAI for Fortune 500 contracts. FDEs build on their Agentic Platform — helping businesses deploy custom AI agents.
Why join: Cohere is one of the few AI labs with a dedicated FDE function across multiple specializations. Deep technical work with enterprise customers globally. Roles: 5+ open — Agentic Platform, Prompt Specialist, Infrastructure Specialist, Public Sector Multiple roles available 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/cohere (search "Forward Deployed")
4. Salesforce
What they do: The world's #1 CRM, now going all-in on Agentforce — their AI agent platform. Committed to hiring 1,000 FDEs. $800M ARR from Agentforce in Q4 FY26.
Why join: Scale and brand. Salesforce FDEs get exposure to Fortune 500 enterprise deployments at a pace no startup can match. $170K–$240K base range. Roles: 100s of open FDE roles across US, Europe, APAC Multiple roles available 🔗 careers.salesforce.com/en/jobs/jr337939/product-forward-deployed-engineer-agentforce-contact-center-seniorleadprincipal/
5. Databricks
What they do: The data and AI company trusted by 60%+ of the Fortune 500. FDEs ("AI Engineers, FDE") build and productionize first-of-their-kind AI applications on the Databricks platform.
Why join: $250K–$450K total comp. Deep GenAI, LLMOps, and ML work across the world's most complex data environments. Roles: Multiple — commercial, federal, and international tracks Multiple roles available 🔗 https://www.databricks.com/company/careers/open-positions (search "Forward Deployed")
6. Ramp
What they do: Financial operations platform processing $100B+ in annualized spend across 50,000+ companies. Leo Mehr built Ramp's FDE team from 2 to 16 people in 18 months.
Why join: One of the fastest-growing fintech companies in the US. FDEs work on mission-critical, high-stakes financial systems with immediate business impact. Roles: Multiple — Software Engineer AI Forward Deployed, Senior level Multiple roles available 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/ramp/deca582c-a1d0-4705-9975-60aed81ba89f
7. ElevenLabs
What they do: Voice AI platform at $11B valuation. Powers voice experiences for Deutsche Telekom, Meta, and thousands of enterprises. FDEs bridge engineering and enterprise customer success.
Why join: $781M raised. Backed by a16z, ICONIQ, Sequoia. One of the most exciting AI infrastructure companies at scale. Roles: 1 open role 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/elevenlabs/6c4c57c1-ec72-42ba-af3a-eb7aebbde2e6
8. Glean
What they do: Enterprise Work AI platform — AI search, agents, and knowledge management trusted by Fortune 500 companies. Recognized by Fast Company as a top 10 Most Innovative Company.
Why join: Founding FDE role — you'll work directly with C-suite at the world's most strategic companies, building new product surfaces that ship to every Glean customer. Roles: 1 Founding FDE role (Remote US) 🔗 job-boards.greenhouse.io/gleanwork/jobs/4651991005
9. Factory
What they do: AI platform that builds and deploys AI solutions to accelerate engineering workflows for the world's most innovative companies. FDEs lead the highest-impact customer implementations and special engineering projects.
Why join: You report directly to the CEO. The role sits at the intersection of engineering, product strategy, customer success, and GTM — broadest exposure possible at a fast-moving AI company. Roles: 1 FDE role 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/factory/9b4262d3-4468-4e74-9d47-6ac3ae2804ec
10. Varick Agents
What they do: AI agent platform that embeds inside enterprise client operations — mapping workflows, identifying inefficiencies, and building AI agents that fix them. FDEs sit inside client operations and own delivery end-to-end.
Why join: The FDE role is the core of what Varick does — you spec the agents, set success criteria, and stay close to the build. Direct client access from day one, high ownership, fast-moving team. Roles: 1 open role 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/varick-agents/15a99eff-beb7-4c35-8240-8e1bfd2d912b
11. Handshake
What they do: Career network for the AI economy. 20M knowledge workers, 1M employers including 100% of the Fortune 50. Tripled ARR in 2025.
Why join: Two FDE levels available — Staff and Associate. Leadership team from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir. Roles: 2 open — Staff FDE + Associate FDE 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/handshake/669082a2-5e60-4c45-92cc-ecd6228e62ee
12. Baseten
What they do: AI model inference and deployment platform. $300M raised at $5B valuation in January 2026. Powers inference for some of the largest AI applications globally.
Why join: FDEs partner directly with enterprise customers to engineer ML solutions on Baseten. Backed by a16z, IVP, Spark Capital. Roles: 1 open role 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/baseten/84c1801c-1a65-49fb-aaaa-beeafd530e7e
13. Exa
What they do: AI search engine built from scratch for AI applications. Massive GPU infrastructure, proprietary embedding models, and vector databases in Rust.
Why join: Small team, massive ambition. The FDE role at Exa combines engineering and sales — "a killer combo" per their own job description. High ownership, high impact. Roles: 1 open role 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/exa/8932d319-b456-4ee0-9efd-16d82be8de80
14. Firecrawl
What they do: Web data extraction platform for AI applications. FDE role focuses on getting Firecrawl integrated, running, and scaling inside customer products.
Why join: $160K–$220K salary. Up to 0.10% equity. Remote (Americas). Fast-moving team at the center of how AI applications get their data. Roles: 1 open role (Remote Americas) 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/firecrawl/e1543e63-bc33-48df-a823-24c3241748ee
15. Warp
What they do: AI agent orchestration platform — evolved from reimagining the developer terminal into the platform for agentic development.
Why join: Founding FDE role. You'll define enterprise implementation strategy, report directly to leadership, and have exposure across every part of the business. Remote US + Canada. Roles: 1 open role (Remote US + Canada) 🔗 job-boards.greenhouse.io/warp/jobs/5749183004
16. Aircall
What they do: AI-powered customer communications platform used by 22,000+ companies. AI Voice Agent, AI Assist, and AI Assist Pro — all needing FDEs to deploy for SMB customers.
Why join: FDE team growing from 3 to 7–8 by H1 2026. Multiple locations. You'll own end-to-end delivery of AI solutions without needing to be a full-stack engineer. Roles: Multiple — SF, NYC, London, Sydney Multiple roles available 🔗 https://jobs.lever.co/aircall/ (search "Forward Deployed")
17. Encord
What they do: Universal data layer for AI. 300+ AI teams use Encord to train and run models on the right data. $60M Series C from Wellington Management, CRV, Next47, and YC.
Why join: Early FDE hire — outsized impact shaping a critical function. Trusted by Woven by Toyota, AXA, UiPath, and Zipline. Roles: 1 open role (NY) 🔗 jobs.lever.co/CordTechnologies/2bd55aa3-e95a-45db-8e35-66db70e77528
18. Middesk
What they do: Business identity verification platform. Came out of YC, backed by Sequoia and Accel. Named to Forbes Fintech 50.
Why join: FDE sits at the intersection of engineering, product, and real customer problems. Shoulder-to-shoulder work with customers and internal teams to ship mission-critical integrations. Roles: 1 open role 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/middesk/a72b1048-1001-49b1-92bd-9c44574f939b
19. Gecko Robotics
What they do: Wall-climbing robots + AI platform for infrastructure inspection. Helps the world's most important organizations — power plants, refineries, bridges — avoid catastrophic failures.
Why join: "Our FDEs are not support engineers — they're builders." High-stakes, multi-domain problems affecting cashflow, production, safety, and the environment. Roles: 1 open role 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/gecko-robotics/1ae83c3f-565a-48c9-85f7-55ab1c75593d
20. Runlayer
What they do: Enterprise MCP/AI agent platform. Built AI Actions for OpenAI, shipped Zapier Agents, launched the first remote MCP server with Anthropic. The co-creator of MCP is on their cap table. $11M from Khosla Ventures and Felicis.
Why join: Team of 25, moving fast. Customers include Gusto, Instacart, and Opendoor. The FDE role is at the center of how AI gets deployed in enterprises. Roles: 1 open role 🔗 jobs.ashbyhq.com/runlayer/17c5964a-c58a-44b7-ae0c-e6f96cae7ffd
List verified May 2026. Job postings change fast — check each careers page directly for current openings.
Written by Ashher
