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Switching into forward deployed engineering

Candidate guide

A forward deployed engineer (FDE) builds software inside a customer's team. Most FDEs did another job first. Switching into forward deployed engineering depends on what you do now. Find your role below and close the gap that matters.

Send your requirement
  • No deposit to get started
  • Every requirement read by us
  • A best-fit shortlist, not a pile of CVs
  • One agreement, one invoice

Who gets hired

Employers name the backgrounds they want

Anthropic's London FDE posting asks for a technical, customer-facing role "such as Forward Deployed Engineer, or as a Software Engineer with consulting or product experience". It also says former technical founders are encouraged to apply.

OpenAI asks for engineering or technical deployment experience that includes customer-facing work. Both want production code and customer time. Your switch is about adding whichever part you are missing.

Tell us the role and the hours. We send you a shortlist of people who fit.

  • No deposit to get started
  • Every requirement read by us
  • A best-fit shortlist, not a pile of CVs
  • One agreement, one invoice
Send your requirement

Switching into forward deployed engineering: your gap by current role

Current roleYou already haveClose this gap
Software engineerProduction codeCustomer discovery and owning a rollout with real users
Solutions or sales engineerDiscovery, demos, executive talkA production system you built and supported, not a proof of concept
ConsultantClient management, scopingHands-on engineering in a real codebase
Support or customer success engineerDebugging live customer systemsOwning a build end to end
Data scientistPython, SQL, evaluationDeploying full applications, not notebooks
DevOps or SREDeploys, cloud, incidentsApplication and LLM work, plus customer discovery
Technical founderAll of it, informallyA clear story of what you built and for whom

A switch plan, stage by stage

  1. 01

    Find a real user

    Inside your current job if you can. Volunteer for the integration, the internal tool or the customer escalation nobody wants.

  2. 02

    Ship it

    Scope a first version, build it, deploy it and support it. Keep a written log of decisions and results.

  3. 03

    Package it and apply

    Write a one-page case study, update your resume around it, practise the decomposition case and apply.

For engineers and leaders

Apply to join.

Apply once with your CV. We look at every application ourselves. Talent never pays.

Apply now

Related FDE guides

Get started

Tell us what you need.

Send your requirement. We send you a shortlist of senior leaders who fit. One agreement and one invoice, with the terms agreed in writing before anything starts.

  • No deposit to get started
  • Every requirement read by us
  • A best-fit shortlist, not a pile of CVs
  • One agreement, one invoice
Which side are you on?

Send your requirement

  • No deposit to get started
  • Every requirement read by us
  • A best-fit shortlist, not a pile of CVs
  • One agreement, one invoice

Apply to join

Talent never pays to apply, be shortlisted or be placed.

Availability, days per week

FAQ

Questions people ask

Can I switch to FDE without changing companies?

Often the easiest way. If your company has implementation, solutions or professional services work, ask to take a customer project end to end.

Do I need AI experience to switch?

For AI lab FDE roles, yes. Anthropic asks for production LLM experience. Many FDE roles outside the labs focus more on data and integration work.

Will I take a pay cut?

It depends on where you start. From senior sales roles with commission, check base pay and equity carefully. The FDE salary guide has posted pay by company and level.

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