The IT sector is the most heavily impacted industry when it comes to AI. Across the board, we have seen layoffs in major companies, be it Amazon, Meta, or TCS. Last month, the tech industry lost over 46,000 jobs alone. But it appears that AI may finally be creating new jobs, with a new role in high demand, called Forward Deployment Engineer (FDE).
Before we understand what this role means, you need to know how this role has been created. OpenAI and Anthropic, two of the world’s leading AI startups, have created powerful AI tools that companies can now use. But there is a catch – adoption.
It is not so easy for big firms to simply put a new tool in their systems. You need to do a lot of work behind-the-scenes before new technology can be used company-wide. And it seems that this is something that may be hampering AI adoption.
To tackle this, OpenAI and Anthropic have started their own AI service companies, with funding from big Wall Street firms. And now, these AI service companies need Forward Deployment Engineers.
What does a Forward Deployment Engineer do?
A Forward Deployment Engineer will basically work with clients to understand their needs. The FDE will then work on customising the AI tool in such a manner that it can do the work that the client wants.
Once this is done, it is up to the FDE team to work with the client on ensuring that these new AI tools can work with the company’s systems. This may include plans to modernise the existing infrastructure, or giving the right context to AI agents regarding the tasks they will need to do.
That is, an FDE will tailor AI tools based on a client’s needs and make sure that the tools can be used effectively. Do note that these needs may differ drastically depending on who the client is. For example, a brand that sells consumer goods will not want the same things that a software company may need.
According to Vishal Sirohi, the CEO and co-founder of Island Computing, the demand for Forward Deployment Engineers shows that using AI tools is not as simple as it looks. He told India Today Tech, “The FDE trend validates that AI, like any large-scale deployment before it, requires deep customer engagement within the customer’s own environment.”
Vishal believes that the role of FDE is more of a historical progression of what we have seen over the years. He added, “Historically, this role started as the sales engineer, evolved into solutions architects during the cloud era, and is now transforming into the Forward Deployment Engineer.”
To give you some context, when OpenAI launched its Deployment Company, OpenAI President Greg Brockman revealed that it already had 150 FDEs working.
Eligibility and salary for Forward Deployment Engineer
Now, if you are interested in becoming an FDE as AI becomes increasingly important across industries, you would need the right skillset to take up such a role.
OpenAI lists 19 different FDE openings online. These roles are in different locations globally, including Sydney, London, and Tokyo. In one such listing, the company says it requires a candidate to have over 5 years of “engineering or technical deployment experience that includes customer-facing work.”
You should also have written or reviewed “production-grade code across frontend and backend using Python, JavaScript, or comparable stacks.”
OpenAI also wants candidates to have had experience when it comes to building or deploying “systems powered by LLMs or generative models” The company does not explicitly list any educational requirements in the listing.
Do note that Anthropic also lists 4 FDE roles on its website with similar requirements. OpenAI and Anthropic are not the only companies looking for FDEs now. Other companies, such as Adobe or Ernst & Young, have also made similar listings.
If you are interested in knowing how much the job of a Forward Deployment Engineer pays, OpenAI puts the package between $198,000 (roughly Rs 1.89 crore) to $335,000 (roughly Rs 3.2 crore) in one listing, while Anthropic places it between £225,000 (roughly Rs 2.9 crore) to £255,000 (roughly Rs 3.3 crore).