Forward deployed engineers for LLM features
Use cases / LLM features
Your roadmap has an AI feature on it, and your team is busy with everything else. Forward deployed engineers for LLM features join your product team, part of the week or for a fixed period, and take the feature from spec to production. You tell us who you need. We send 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
Why product teams bring one in
The feature is easy to prototype hard to ship well
Adding a model call to a product takes an afternoon. Making it fast, cheap, consistent and safe for every customer takes real engineering. That work competes with everything else on your team's board.
A forward deployed engineer joins your product team for one feature. They work from your spec, in your codebase and design system. They leave it shipped, measured and documented.
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
What the work covers
What forward deployed engineers for LLM features work on
- Model and prompt choice Comparing models on your own examples for quality, speed and cost. Prompts stay versioned and testable like any other code.
- Product design for AI output Streaming, editing, retry and feedback controls that fit your design system, so users can trust and correct the output.
- Cost and rate limits Caching, smaller models where they are good enough, usage limits per plan, and alerts before a bill surprises anyone.
- Rollout and measurement Feature flags, staged rollout and product analytics, so you know whether customers use the feature and whether it helps.
How hiring an engineer for your feature works
- 01
Send your requirement
Tell us the feature, the product owner and what success looks like for customers. If there is no spec yet, say so. It is free, and there is no deposit.
- 02
Get a shortlist
We read every requirement ourselves and look for people who fit. Then we send a shortlist: each person's CV and a short note on why they fit.
- 03
Talk to them and choose
You talk to whoever you like and choose. Good candidates ask about your users before your model. You do not have to hire anyone.
- 04
Pay only when someone starts
One agreement and one invoice with us, on terms agreed in writing before anything starts. Talent never pays.
Constraints to plan around
| Constraint | What it means for the build |
|---|---|
| Customer data terms | Your contracts and privacy policy decide what customer data can go to a model provider, and whether it can be used for training. |
| Security review | Enterprise customers will ask about model providers in their security questionnaires. The engineer documents data flows so you can answer. |
| OWASP LLM risks | Prompt injection, sensitive data disclosure and unsafe output handling are designed for, not patched after a customer finds them. |
| Unit economics | Model cost per use has to fit your pricing. The engineer tracks it from the first internal release. |
An agency or a forward deployed engineer
Product or AI agency
- Often builds in a separate repo or prototype
- Team rotates across clients
- Handover can mean rewriting into your stack
- Scope fixed up front, changes cost extra
Forward deployed engineer
- Works in your codebase and review process
- Same engineer from first commit to rollout
- Follows your conventions so your team can own it
- Works alongside your product manager
For companies
Tell us who you need.
Send your requirement. It is free and there is no deposit. We read it ourselves and send you a shortlist of people who fit. You pay only when someone starts.
- No deposit to get started
- Every requirement read by us
- A best-fit shortlist, not a pile of CVs
- One agreement, one invoice
Fees, how it works and related use cases
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
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.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Will the engineer follow our code review process?
They should. An embedded engineer opens pull requests like anyone on your team and works to your conventions. Ask about this when you talk to them.
What if our product manager changes the spec part way through?
That is normal. The engineer adjusts the plan with your product manager, the same way your own team would.
Can the engineer work on mobile as well as web?
Yes, if that is where the feature lives. Say so in your requirement, so we look for people with the right stack.
What happens after the feature ships?
The engineer hands over docs, evals and dashboards so your team can run it. Some teams keep the engineer on for the next feature.
Explore more
- How it works
What happens after you send your requirement, step by step.
- Fees
No deposit. One agreement and one invoice when someone starts.
- What is fractional
Senior leaders for part of the week, and when that makes sense.
- Locations
Talent based across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.
How it works
Fees
What is fractional
Locations