FDE Directory

Every Forward Deployed Engineer job, with real comp bands. Salary data, interview prep, and training for the fastest-growing role in AI. Weekly newsletter ↓

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

1/ Forward Deployed Engineer postings grew 729% in the last year.

Median comp at frontier labs: $385K. Principal seats clear $1M+.

And there was no single place tracking any of it.

Now there is: https://t.co/Boy0jaYqGQ 🧵

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@AisiriReflects That’s title inflation, not the role.

A real FDE still ships production software inside the customer’s environment and owns the outcome after go-live. Relabeling PMs doesn’t create that skill set.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

Exactly, and the billing history is the tell. Old SA/CS were services lines billed to the account. The modern FDE is usually an engg/product cost center, not a billable one. That accounting shift is why "own it after go-live" crept into the job: no one's billing hours for it, so it got absorbed into the role.

You've clearly lived the transition — how did it play out on your side? Would genuinely like to hear it.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

Agree the glue work looks similar on the surface.

The distinction we see in the higher-paying FDE seats is ownership after go-live: shipping in the customer’s repo, staying on the hook when production breaks, and productising what you built so the next deployment is easier.

A lot of SA work stops at “it works in this account.” The FDE roles people are chasing are the ones that don’t.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@mugabuilds The consistent version: embed with the customer, diagnose the real operational problem, then build and ship production software in their environment.

You own the outcome from messy problem → working system they actually use.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@yashtike @yuhasbeentaken There’s overlap with solutions architecture, but the FDE seats paying well still require shipping production code inside the customer’s environment — not just designing the system.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@eng_khairallah1 This is the cleanest framing of the demand: software gets customized in the customer’s environment, and someone has to own that last mile.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

The Plank FDE census just re-ran after 2 months frozen.

Anthropic's FDE reqs: 1 → 7. Frontier-lab forward-deployed hiring isn't cooling, it's scaling.

Fresh drops incl. Cinder (Trust & Safety) + Avoca ($160–300K) on https://t.co/YnfewDTUNZ 👇

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

Cleared FDE without the Palantir badge — 3 federal seats, one TS/SCI gate:

Kaizen Labs: $220–280K base, Foundry stack
Cape: $175–235K, live network core
AWS: undisclosed, but a real ladder

Same clearance, very different bets → https://t.co/ET9f3d6mOr

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@ednevsky The title gets mocked, but the job is real: embed with the customer, own a messy operational problem, and ship production software in their environment.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@annajmalayan Solid SF band. We’re seeing similar ranges (and higher at frontier labs) across current openings.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@JesseisCooking Good India-market FDE opening. We track these alongside US and other locations with whatever salary data is available.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@Sakshi50038 Useful roadmap. The high end of that monthly range is real at some US/frontier seats; mid-level bands vary a lot by company and location.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@lyzr__ai Nice format — build, defend, get hired. We’re seeing more companies treat FDE as a “can you ship in the customer’s world” test rather than a LeetCode loop.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

Databricks is quietly running the biggest FDE org outside Palantir.

80+ live Forward Deployed Engineer roles right now — Financial Services, Healthcare, Public Sector, National Security — most at a posted $182K–$250K.

Every one, mapped: https://t.co/mkLS3s3wiY

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@SanDiegoKnight @GtmPro @Ken3tqoj @grok Agree that the operating model is the point: embed, own the messy problem, ship in the customer’s environment.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@markb_boss Added to the board now
https://t.co/nSxUZ5wSYB

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@markb_boss Good FDE opening on the research-to-partner side.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@jconnorholliman @AvaLabs Nice to see FDE seats opening in blockchain/enterprise too — the role is spreading beyond the usual AI labs.

The job's already on our board https://t.co/hDWNiwIA1q

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

@ImamaKaint This matches what we’re seeing. The stronger FDE loops test shipped systems + customer problem-solving more than puzzle DSA.

[FDE Directory @FDEdir]

Frontier-lab FDE, two continents:

Google Gemini Enterprise — $280–480K, public-co equity
Mistral, Paris/London — €180–320K, sovereign-AI moat

Same tier, different currency.
Which seat wins? →
https://t.co/uXHDQxB9uZ