02/The Model
What a forward deployed engineer actually is.
A forward deployed engineer embeds inside your organization. Your repo, your standups, your Slack. They ship production code. Palantir invented the role in 2003 to deploy Gotham inside the CIA. Today OpenAI, Anthropic, and Databricks all run forward deployed teams. FDE productizes that model for companies that cannot justify hiring it in house at $300k to $600k in total comp.
Read the full guide on what a forward deployed engineer is| Capability | FDE Agency | Consultant | Staff Aug | Solutions Engineer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary output | Production code in your repo | Decks and recommendations | Billable hours | Demo, pre deal only |
| Outcome ownership | Outcome accountable | Advisory | Time based | Pre sales |
| Time to first PR | 7 days | N/A | Weeks | N/A |
| IP ownership | 100% client | Vendor | Mixed | N/A |
| Feedback loop | Direct to product | Report, then forgotten | None | CRM note |
| Typical duration | 6 weeks per embed | Project based | Open ended | 0 to 3 months |
Ready to ship?
Book a 15 minute scoping call. Limited capacity each quarter.