Who hires FDEs, and under which titles

Search a job board for the exact phrase “forward deployed engineer” and you get two wrong answers at once. You miss Sierra, where the engineers who build agents with customers are titled Software Engineer, Agent ^[1]Source 1Software Engineer, AgentPublisherSierra (Ashby)Source typecompany job posting, and Palantir, whose title puts “Software” in the middle. ^[2]Source 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer (New York, NY) - Palantir on LeverPublisherPalantir Technologies (Lever)Source typecompany job posting And you catch Anduril’s FDE, whose required qualifications include climbing towers to repair sensors. ^[3]Source 3Forward Deployed Engineer, Air Defense (FDE)PublisherAnduril Industries (Greenhouse)Source typecompany job posting Why the role spread dated when these teams formed; this lesson finds them. By the end you will have a search list and three questions that tell you whether a posting is the software job you want: what would I build, where would it run, and who would I answer to?

Four search rules

1. Search “forward deployed”, not the full phrase. Ramp’s title reverses the words: Software Engineer, Forward Deployed. ^[4]Source 4Software Engineer, Forward Deployed @ RampPublisherRamp (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting Palantir’s is Forward Deployed Software Engineer. ^[2]Source 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer (New York, NY) - Palantir on LeverPublisherPalantir Technologies (Lever)Source typecompany job posting An exact-phrase search for “forward deployed engineer” misses both.
2. Search “FDE” as a whole word. Microsoft’s “Software Engineer - FDE” and its Windows FDE titles use the abbreviation alone, and across all the boards in our September 2026 count, 37 postings were caught only by it. ^{[5, 6, 7]}Source 5Microsoft Careers: Software Engineer - FDEPublisherMicrosoftSource typecompany job postingSource 6Microsoft Careers: Principal Software Engineer - Windows Domain FDEPublisherMicrosoftSource typecompany job postingSource 7Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data
3. Read what a title match returns. In our September 2026 count of amazon.jobs, only 4 of the 20 titles containing “Forward Deployed” were individual-contributor Forward Deployed Engineer titles, and 7 were Security Engineer postings. ^[8]Source 8amazon.jobs search, query "forward deployed"PublisherAmazon.jobsSource typeour analysis of public dataHow we counted Of ElevenLabs’ 38 matching postings in our count, 21 were Deployment Strategist. ^[7]Source 7Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data Microsoft’s 29 FDE-titled postings in our count described four different teams and organizations. ^[9]Source 9Microsoft Careers search (queries: forward deployed, "forward deployed", forward deployed engineer, FDE, forward deployment)PublisherMicrosoft (our analysis)Source typeour analysis of public dataHow we counted
4. Add the titles with no “forward” in them: Deployed Engineer, Deployed Architect, Agent Deployment Engineer and Software Engineer, Agent.

Titles to search, employer by employer

Postings change; check the live board.

Titles with no “forward” in them. These four employers use titles a “forward deployed” search misses.

FDE titles where the qualifier matters. Where the title does say forward deployed, the suffix can be its most important word.

ElevenLabs’ own postings say the company has no job titles ^[38]Source 38ElevenLabs job boardPublisherElevenLabs (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting, so read the posting, not the label.

One board, searched end to end

• Search. In our September 2026 count of LangChain’s board, no title contained “Forward Deployed”; 19 began “Deployed Engineer” and 8 began “Deployed Architect”. ^[14]Source 14LangChain job boardPublisherOur analysis of Ashby job boardsSource typeour analysis of public dataHow we counted The first rule finds nothing; the fourth finds the team.
• Read the departments. Deployed Engineering held 15 Deployed Engineer roles plus a Sales Engineer and two Solutions Engineers, while the Professional Services Deployed Engineer and the Deployed Architect sat in Customer Engineering. ^{[12, 13, 14]}Source 12LangChain job boardPublisherLangChainSource typecompany job postingSource 13LangChain job boardPublisherLangChainSource typecompany job postingSource 14LangChain job boardPublisherOur analysis of Ashby job boardsSource typeour analysis of public dataHow we counted
• Ask the three questions of the Bay Area Deployed Engineer. Build: production AI agents with customer teams, plus proofs of concept to win the deal. ^[12]Source 12LangChain job boardPublisherLangChainSource typecompany job posting Runs: in production with customer engineering teams, with 40% travel to customer sites. ^[12]Source 12LangChain job boardPublisherLangChainSource typecompany job posting Answers to: unclear; the role sits between engineering, product and go-to-market. ^[45]Source 45Deployed Engineer (UK) @ LangChainPublisherLangChain (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting
• Ask them of the Professional Services Deployed Engineer. Build: from a week of architecture design to a quarter embedded inside a customer’s team. ^[46]Source 46Deployed Engineer, Professional Services (San Francisco) @ LangChainPublisherLangChain (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting Runs: inside the customer’s team, with travel up to 20%. ^{[13, 46]}Source 13LangChain job boardPublisherLangChainSource typecompany job postingSource 46Deployed Engineer, Professional Services (San Francisco) @ LangChainPublisherLangChain (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting Answers to: ask the recruiter. It asks for 4+ years of software engineering and points to a separate Deployed Engineer listing, focused on Account Strategy & Solutions. ^{[13, 46]}Source 13LangChain job boardPublisherLangChainSource typecompany job postingSource 46Deployed Engineer, Professional Services (San Francisco) @ LangChainPublisherLangChain (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting

The verdict: one title, two tracks. Both build; the Bay Area posting also owns the pre-sales technical win.

Titles that are not what they seem

The reverse problem is an FDE or engineer title on a job that isn’t the software role you want.

• Anduril: field hardware. Its FDE posting says the role is internally called Technical Operations Engineer, in Deployment Operations. ^[3]Source 3Forward Deployed Engineer, Air Defense (FDE)PublisherAnduril Industries (Greenhouse)Source typecompany job posting The required qualifications include climbing towers to repair sensors and repairing generators, solar power and hydraulic systems. ^[3]Source 3Forward Deployed Engineer, Air Defense (FDE)PublisherAnduril Industries (Greenhouse)Source typecompany job posting Build: repairs. Runs: field sites. Answers to: Deployment Operations.
• Accenture India: application support. Of Accenture’s 78 India postings titled “Forward Deployed Engineer” in September 2026, our count found 66 that list a ServiceNow module as the must-have skill and call the job an “Application Support Engineer”. ^{[47, 48]}Source 47Accenture Workday job detail records, India FDE-titled postingsPublisherAccenture (Workday)Source typeour analysis of public dataHow we countedSource 48Forward Deployed Engineer (Pune, ATCI-5421965-S1971273)PublisherAccenture careers (Workday)Source typecompany job posting Build: fixes for issues in critical business systems. Runs: on ServiceNow, the must-have skill.
• Modal Stockholm: a sales-facing job. Modal’s “Forward Deployed Engineer - Systems” posting describes the technical voice in the sales process, working with Account Executives, and asks for 5+ years in solutions engineering, sales engineering or customer-facing technical roles. ^[49]Source 49Forward Deployed Engineer - Systems @ Modal (Stockholm)PublisherModal (Ashby)Source typecompany job posting Build: the technical side of a sale. Works with: Account Executives.
• Harvey: an engineer title on a job for lawyers. Harvey’s US Legal Engineer postings require a JD or equivalent and 3+ years of practicing law. ^[50]Source 50Legal Engineer (Law Firm, Corporate) - New York @ HarveyPublisherHarvey (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting Harvey itself says the title sounds technical but the real skill is legal. ^[51]Source 51A Day in the Life of a Legal Engineer at HarveyPublisherHarveySource typecompany blog Build: legal work, not software.
• Cursor and Adobe: “Field Engineer”, two meanings. Cursor’s “Field Engineer” roles sit in the same Solutions department as its FDEs and describe pre-sales work: guiding prospective customers through proofs of concept. ^{[52, 53, 54]}Source 52Cursor job boardPublisherCursor (Ashby job board)Source typeour analysis of public dataHow we countedSource 53CareersPublisherCursorSource typecompany hiring pageSource 54Field EngineerPublisherCursor (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting Adobe’s Senior FDE posting has a job URL that still reads “Senior-Field-Engineer---Customer-Engagements”. ^[55]Source 55Senior Forward Deployed EngineerPublisherAdobe (Workday careers site)Source typecompany job posting The same words point to different jobs, so search an old title as a lead, then read what it returns.

If the answer to “what would I build?” isn’t software you write, it is not the job you are preparing for.

When a title search comes back empty or unclear

Harvey’s board had no title containing “Forward Deployed” in September 2026, yet its Staff Product Manager posting mentions working with “forward deployed engineering and customer teams”. ^[56]Source 56Staff Product Manager, New Verticals @ HarveyPublisherHarvey (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting The team exists and no open title names it. At xAI in September 2026, no open job said “forward deployed” anywhere, title or description. ^[57]Source 57Greenhouse job board - xaiPublisherSpaceXAI (Greenhouse)Source typecompany job board

Then ask the recruiter, in words like these:

• No title for the team: “Your Staff Product Manager posting mentions forward deployed engineering. Which title does that team hire engineers under, and is one open now?”
• An ambiguous title, such as Modal’s: “The posting mentions working with Account Executives. Before I prepare, can you tell me what someone in this role builds in the first quarter, where that code runs, and who they report to?”

Consultancies and platform-tied roles

Some consultancy FDE titles name a vendor platform and require experience on it. Accenture’s US “Palantir Forward Deployed Engineer” posting requires at least 1 year building in Palantir Foundry or Gotham. ^[58]Source 58Palantir Forward Deployed Engineer (R00352354)PublisherAccenture careers (Workday)Source typecompany job posting Deloitte’s “Anthropic Forward Deployed Engineer - GPS” posting requires 1+ years with Anthropic platform technologies such as the Claude API, and the ability to obtain a US government security clearance. ^[59]Source 59Anthropic Forward Deployed Engineer - GPSPublisherDeloitte USSource typecompany job posting

If you have shipped on one of those platforms, its name is a search term; if not, these postings aren’t for you yet. On any public-sector posting, check for a clearance requirement first.

What the title tells you about level

Some titles carry the level, some a misleading one and some none. Read the years and the scope, not the noun.

• In the title. Google’s III and IV are separate postings, so pick one, and know why, before the recruiter screen. ^{[15, 16]}Source 15Forward Deployed Engineer IV, GenAI, Google Cloud — Google CareersPublisherGoogleSource typecompany job postingSource 16Forward Deployed Engineer III, Generative AI, Google Cloud — Google CareersPublisherGoogleSource typecompany job posting A consultancy may put its firm rank in the title, as EY does in “Forward Deployed Engineer – Applied AI - Senior Manager - Financial Services”. ^[60]Source 60Forward Deployed Engineer - Applied AI - Senior Manager - Financial Services - ConsultingPublisherEY CareersSource typecompany job posting
• Open to early careers. Palantir’s New York FDSE asks for 1+ years of post-college experience ^[2]Source 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer (New York, NY) - Palantir on LeverPublisherPalantir Technologies (Lever)Source typecompany job posting, and C3 AI posts a Forward Deployed Engineer role for New Grad 2027. ^{[61, 62, 63, 64]}Source 61Forward Deployed Engineer (Redwood City) | C3 AIPublisherC3 AISource typecompany job postingSource 62Forward Deployed Engineer (Atlanta, Houston) | C3 AIPublisherC3 AISource typecompany job postingSource 63Forward Deployed Engineer | C3 AI (London)PublisherC3 AISource typecompany job postingSource 64Forward Deployed Engineer, Federal | C3 AIPublisherC3 AISource typecompany job posting
• In the body. Microsoft’s “Software Engineer - FDE” series runs from IC3 to IC5 in the US ^[5]Source 5Microsoft Careers: Software Engineer - FDEPublisherMicrosoftSource typecompany job posting, and its IC3 posting asks for a degree and 2+ years of coding experience, or equivalent experience. ^[5]Source 5Microsoft Careers: Software Engineer - FDEPublisherMicrosoftSource typecompany job posting
• Misleading. Salesforce’s “Missionforce - Associate Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Public Sector” asks for 3-7 years and an active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph. ^[65]Source 65Missionforce - Associate Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Public SectorPublisherSalesforce (Workday careers site)Source typecompany job posting At Notion, the Forward Deployed Architect sounds senior, yet as of September 2026 it asked for the FDE’s 5+ years and posted a lower OTE band. ^{[66, 67, 68]}Source 66Forward Deployed Architect @ NotionPublisherNotion (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job postingSource 67Forward Deployed Engineer, GTM, AMER @ NotionPublisherNotion (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job postingSource 68Forward Deployed Engineer @ NotionPublisherNotion (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting

When the posting leaves the level open, as Databricks’ AI FDE posting does ^[20]Source 20AI Engineer – Forward Deployed Engineering (AI FDE)PublisherDatabricks (careers site / Greenhouse)Source typecompany job posting, tell the recruiter the level you are targeting and the project whose scope matches it.

Building your search list

Keep one row per posting, with the three questions as columns. Here is a header row and one example row, filled from Decagon’s postings. ^[11]Source 11Agent Deployment Engineer @ Decagon (San Francisco)PublisherDecagon (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting

company,title_as_posted,team,read_on,builds,runs_where,answers_to,gate,level,verdict
Decagon,Agent Deployment Engineer,Agent Deployment Engineering,September 2026,enterprise AI agent builds end to end,production; integrated with customer CRMs and ticketing,ask the recruiter,in office,5+ years customer-facing,apply

Search descriptions too, since careers-page search boxes may match titles only. Each board’s JSON carries the full posting; Greenhouse includes it only with ?content=true, per its Job Board API documentation.

# Ashby: postings whose description mentions the work, with department and team
curl -fsS https://api.ashbyhq.com/posting-api/job-board/sierra \
  | jq -r '.jobs[] | select((.descriptionPlain // "") | test("forward[- ]deployed|\\bFDE\\b|embed"; "i")) | [.title, .department, .team] | @tsv'

# Greenhouse: the same search on a duty phrase
curl -fsS 'https://boards-api.greenhouse.io/v1/boards/anthropic/jobs?content=true' \
  | jq -r '.jobs[] | select(.content | test("embeds? directly"; "i")) | [.title, .departments[0].name] | @tsv'

Product, security and sales roles will match too; drop them by title. The Sierra run also surfaces Deployed Infrastructure Engineer, which calls itself a Forward Deployed Infrastructure Engineer; no title search here catches it. ^[69]Source 69Deployed Infrastructure Engineer (San Francisco)PublisherSierra (Ashby)Source typecompany job posting

Keep going. Next, read the guide for your target: Palantir, Google, Databricks or OpenAI. The company guides and the level question are free. Pro opens the illustrative answers to the clearance question and to Which of our APIs or products have you built with?, which clearance and platform suffixes set up.