This is the most comprehensive, actively maintained list of companies hiring Forward Deployed Engineers, Forward Deployed Software Engineers (FDSEs), and equivalent roles. Updated monthly.

Tier 1: Established FDE Programs (50+ FDEs)

Palantir Technologies

• Roles: FDSE, Forward Deployed Infrastructure Engineer, Deployment Strategist
• Comp range: $170K-$500K+ total comp (L3-L6)
• Locations: NYC, Palo Alto, DC, Denver, London, globally
• Work style: Hybrid, 30-50% travel to client sites
• Tech stack: Java, Python, Foundry/Gotham/Apollo, Spark
• Security clearance: Required for government work (TS/SCI for some roles)
• Notable: Invented the FDE role. Largest FDE org in the world. Known for intense decomposition interviews.

Databricks

• Roles: AI FDE, Forward Deployment Engineer, Resident Solutions Architect
• Comp range: $200K-$520K+ total comp
• Locations: SF, NYC, remote eligible, global
• Work style: Hybrid, 20-30% travel
• Tech stack: Python, Spark, SQL, Delta Lake, MLflow, Unity Catalog
• Notable: Rapidly expanding FDE org. Created "Head of AI FDE" role in 2025. Strong equity component.

Snowflake

• Roles: Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineer
• Comp range: $180K-$350K total comp
• Locations: San Mateo, remote eligible
• Work style: Hybrid, 25-35% travel
• Tech stack: SQL, Python, Snowpark, Streamlit

Tier 2: Growing FDE Programs (10-50 FDEs)

Scale AI

• Roles: Forward Deployed AI Engineer
• Comp range: $190K-$400K+ total comp
• Locations: SF, NYC
• Work style: Hybrid, 15-25% travel
• Tech stack: Python, LLMs, data annotation pipelines, ML evaluation
• Notable: FDEs deploy AI solutions directly with enterprise customers. Fast-growing team.

Anduril Industries

• Roles: Forward Deployed Engineer, Mission Software Engineer
• Comp range: $180K-$380K total comp
• Locations: Costa Mesa, DC, Seattle
• Work style: On-site, 10-20% travel
• Tech stack: C++, Python, Rust, computer vision, autonomy systems
• Security clearance: Required (most roles)
• Notable: Defense-focused FDE work. Hardware + software integration.

Anthropic

• Roles: Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineer
• Comp range: $250K-$600K+ total comp
• Locations: SF, NYC
• Work style: Hybrid
• Tech stack: Python, Claude API, RAG, agent frameworks
• Notable: FDEs help enterprise customers deploy Claude. Top-of-market comp.

OpenAI

• Roles: Solutions Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineer
• Comp range: $280K-$700K+ total comp
• Locations: SF
• Work style: On-site preferred
• Tech stack: Python, GPT APIs, fine-tuning, agent systems
• Notable: Highest comp in the FDE space. Small, selective team.

Stripe

• Roles: Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Architect
• Comp range: $200K-$400K total comp
• Locations: SF, NYC, Seattle, remote
• Work style: Remote-friendly, 15% travel
• Tech stack: Ruby, Python, APIs, payments infrastructure

Datadog

• Roles: Forward Deployed Engineer, Solutions Engineer
• Comp range: $180K-$340K total comp
• Locations: NYC, Boston, remote
• Work style: Hybrid, 25% travel
• Tech stack: Python, Go, observability, cloud infrastructure

Tier 3: Emerging FDE Programs

Cohere

• Comp range: $150K-$280K total comp
• Locations: Toronto, SF, remote
• Tech stack: Python, LLMs, RAG, embeddings

ElevenLabs

• Comp range: $160K-$300K total comp
• Locations: NYC, SF, London, remote
• Tech stack: Python, audio ML, APIs

MongoDB

• Comp range: $170K-$320K total comp
• Locations: NYC, Austin, remote
• Tech stack: MongoDB, Python, Node.js, Atlas

Confluent

• Comp range: $160K-$280K total comp
• Locations: Remote, Mountain View
• Tech stack: Kafka, Java, Python, stream processing

HashiCorp

• Comp range: $180K-$350K total comp
• Locations: SF, remote
• Tech stack: Go, Terraform, Vault, Consul

dbt Labs

• Comp range: $155K-$270K total comp
• Locations: Remote
• Tech stack: SQL, Python, dbt, analytics engineering

Salesforce (Agentforce)

• Roles: AI Forward Deployed Engineer (Agentforce)
• Comp range: $200K-$380K total comp
• Locations: SF, NYC, remote
• Tech stack: Python, LLMs, Salesforce platform, agent frameworks
• Notable: New program specifically for deploying AI agents to enterprise customers.

Ramp

• Comp range: $180K-$350K total comp
• Locations: NYC
• Tech stack: Python, TypeScript, fintech integrations

Tier 4: Companies with FDE-Adjacent Roles

These companies have roles that function like FDEs but may use different titles:

FDE Hiring Trends (2025-2026)

• 800% growth in FDE job postings since early 2025
• 58% of FDE roles are at companies with 11-200 employees
• AI FDE is the fastest-growing sub-role
• Security clearance commands $30K-$80K salary premium
• Remote FDE roles growing, but hybrid still dominates (60%+)

This directory is updated monthly. Have a company to add? Reply below or submit a suggestion.

Salary data sourced from our FDE Salary Database and community submissions.