Forward Deployed Engineer job titles: what each company calls the role
Employers post the Forward Deployed Engineer role under several titles: Forward Deployed Engineer, Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Software Engineer, Forward Deployed, Frontier Agents Engineer (Forward Deployed Engineering), Deployment Lead, Lead FDE, and the business-side Deployment Strategist.
Checked against each employer's own careers page on October 22, 2026. FDE Dispatch has no affiliation with these employers.
Postings close. Search every title variant on the company's own careers site before you treat a row here as open.
Titles, pay, and travel as posted
The table below lists each title, location, pay, experience, and travel line as the employer posted it, checked live on October 22, 2026. Pay is quoted exactly as the posting states it, including location and commission caveats. Where the posting lists no pay, experience, or travel, the cell says not listed. For a fuller pay dataset across more employers, see Forward Deployed Engineer salary. For what these postings ask you to demonstrate, see Forward Deployed Engineer skills.
| Company | Title as posted | Location | Pay as posted | Experience | Travel | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SF | San Francisco, hybrid 3 days | $185K – $300K + equity (posting: "base pay offered may vary") | 5+ yrs eng/technical deployment incl. customer-facing | up to 50% | Posting |
| OpenAI | Deployment Lead, Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) - Platform | SF or NYC, hybrid 3 days | $207K – $294K + equity (posting: "base pay offered may vary") | 5+ yrs product leadership or customer-facing technical delivery | up to 50% | Posting |
| Anthropic | Staff Forward Deployed Engineer | NYC; SF; Seattle | $280,000–$320,000 USD annual salary (posting adds a standard note that ranges for sales roles are OTE) | not listed | 25% | Posting |
| Anthropic | Forward Deployed Engineer | Paris | not listed | 8+ yrs technical, customer-facing | 25-50% | Posting |
| Palantir | Forward Deployed Software Engineer | Seoul | not listed | not listed | 25-50% preferred | Posting |
| Palantir | FDSE, US Government; FDSE, Intel; FDSE, Tactical Edge; Forward Deployed Security Engineer, US Government; Deployment Strategist, Build to Apply | US gov locations | not listed | not listed | not listed | Posting |
| Ramp | Software Engineer, Forward Deployed | NYC (HQ); also SF, hybrid | $168K – $285K + equity | 3+ yrs preferred | not listed | Posting |
| Ramp | Software Engineer, Forward Deployed AI Solutions | NYC, hybrid | $189K – $330K + equity | not listed | up to ~50% | Posting |
| Scale AI | Frontier Agents Engineer (Forward Deployed Engineering) | SF | base $180,000–$225,000 (SF, NY, Seattle) | 4+ yrs SWE | not listed | Posting |
| Scale AI | Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Public Sector | Austin, Colorado Springs, Honolulu, Omaha, St. Louis, Washington DC | base $184,000–$292,560 (SF/NY/Seattle); $165,600–$263,304 (Hawaii, Washington DC, Texas, Colorado); $138,000–$219,420 (St. Louis) | 5+ yrs SWE | 25%, up to 50% as necessary | Posting |
| Salesforce | Forward Deployed Engineer | Paris | not listed | 3+ yrs SWE/technical delivery; prior customer-facing technical delivery required | ~25% | Posting |
| Databricks | Forward Deployed Engineer, FDE (L4) | Remote - India | not listed | 9+ yrs | 20% | Posting |
| 84.51° | Lead Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) (P4570) | Cincinnati; Chicago | $125,000–$207,000 USD base (eligible for variable compensation) | 5+ yrs producing high-quality software on Agile teams | not listed | Posting |
What the title variants signal
Title variants signal different ownership: some postings put the FDE on discovery through production rollout, others pair the engineer with a strategist or file the role under professional services. The posting text, more than the title string, tells you what you will own.
- OpenAI Forward Deployed Engineer. The FDE owns discovery, technical scoping, system design, build, and production rollout. The posting does not name a paired strategist.
- OpenAI Deployment Lead, Forward Deployed Engineering. The Platform team turns promising use cases into repeatable solutions and partners with FDEs.
- Ramp Software Engineer, Forward Deployed. Posted under a Core FDE org; the work includes an embedding model inside a core product area and building agents.
- Databricks Forward Deployed Engineer (L4). Filed under professional services. The posting states FDEs are billable and lists Databricks certification.
- 84.51° Lead Forward Deployed Engineer. An internal FDE: embedded with internal delivery teams to drive AI-enabled SDLC across Kroger and 84.51°.
- Scale Frontier Agents Engineer (Forward Deployed Engineering). Centers on production agents, eval harnesses, and guardrails.
- Anthropic Staff Forward Deployed Engineer. Department listed as Applied AI; the posting places the role as a member of the GTM team and states you do not need to have shipped agents to production.
Map these titles to the rounds you will face.
The paired model: engineer and strategist
Several employers hire the technical FDE next to a business-facing partner. That pairing is the most FDE-specific signal on these listings.
- Palantir hires Forward Deployed Software Engineers and Deployment Strategists side by side, including New Grad and Internship variants on the Seoul board and US government tracks.
- Salesforce puts its Forward Deployed Engineer in a pod with a Deployment Strategist. The posting calls the strategist the Strategic Builder, a customer-facing advisor who shapes AI strategy and drives adoption, and calls the FDE the Technical Builder.
- Ramp Software Engineer, Forward Deployed AI Solutions co-leads engagements with an AI Solutions Strategist. Per the posting, the strategist owns business discovery, ROI narrative, stakeholder alignment, and rollout planning; the engineer owns technical discovery, solution design, prototyping, implementation, and production readiness. Artifacts named include system context and data flow diagrams, an integration plan, a security model, an evaluation plan, and an operational plan.
In a paired team, the engineer is judged on technical discovery and the build. Where no strategist is named, you own business discovery too, so prepare for both. Rehearse that split with the FDE interview loop guide and the practice questions bank.
What the postings ask for
Experience floors on these listings: 3+ years at Ramp (preferred) and Salesforce; 4+ years at Scale Frontier Agents; 5+ years at OpenAI, Scale Public Sector, and 84.51°; 8+ years at Anthropic Paris; 9+ years for Databricks L4. Salesforce states prior customer-facing technical delivery is required.
Travel on the postings that name it runs from 20% (Databricks) to about 50% (OpenAI and Ramp AI Solutions). Anthropic Staff FDE lists 25%; Anthropic Paris lists 25-50%; Palantir Seoul FDSE prefers 25-50%; Salesforce lists about 25%; Scale Public Sector expects 25% with up to 50% as necessary.
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Field notes from live AI deployments and what FDE interview loops are testing.
Related guides
- What is a Forward Deployed Engineer?
- How to become a Forward Deployed Engineer
- The FDE interview loop, explained
- FDE interview loop field guide
- FDE interview practice questions
- Forward Deployed Engineer skills
- Forward Deployed Engineer salary
- How to evaluate a Forward Deployed Engineer training program
- FDE vs. solutions engineer
- Forward Deployed Engineer vs. software engineer
- FDE glossary: short definitions of Forward Deployed Engineer terms
Questions people ask
Is Forward Deployed Engineer the same as Forward Deployed Software Engineer?
Employers use both titles for the same family of work. OpenAI, Anthropic, Salesforce, Databricks, and 84.51° post Forward Deployed Engineer. Palantir and Scale post Forward Deployed Software Engineer. Ramp posts Software Engineer, Forward Deployed. Read the posting for ownership of discovery, build, and travel; the title alone does not fix the split with a Deployment Strategist.
What is a Deployment Strategist?
A Deployment Strategist is the business-side paired role next to the Forward Deployed Engineer. Palantir hires Forward Deployed Software Engineers and Deployment Strategists side by side. Salesforce puts the FDE in a pod with a Deployment Strategist it calls the Strategic Builder, while the FDE is the Technical Builder. Ramp's AI Solutions engineer co-leads with an AI Solutions Strategist: the strategist owns business discovery, ROI narrative, stakeholder alignment, and rollout planning; the engineer owns technical discovery, solution design, prototyping, implementation, and production readiness.
How much do Forward Deployed Engineers earn?
As posted on October 22, 2026 on these employer listings: OpenAI Forward Deployed Engineer SF lists $185K – $300K + equity, with the posting stating "base pay offered may vary." OpenAI Deployment Lead, Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) - Platform lists $207K – $294K + equity, with the same base-pay-may-vary note. Anthropic Staff Forward Deployed Engineer lists an annual salary of $280,000–$320,000 USD; the posting adds a standard note that ranges for sales roles are OTE. Ramp Software Engineer, Forward Deployed lists $168K – $285K + equity. Ramp Software Engineer, Forward Deployed AI Solutions lists $189K – $330K + equity. Scale Frontier Agents Engineer lists base $180,000–$225,000 for SF, NY, and Seattle. Scale Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Public Sector lists base ranges by location: $184,000–$292,560 (SF/NY/Seattle); $165,600–$263,304 (Hawaii, Washington DC, Texas, Colorado); $138,000–$219,420 (St. Louis). 84.51° Lead Forward Deployed Engineer lists base $125,000–$207,000 USD and notes eligibility for variable compensation. Several other postings on this page do not list pay. For the fuller pay table, see Forward Deployed Engineer salary. Figures change when postings close; check the linked careers pages.
Prepare for the titles you will see
FDE Dispatch maps how employers name and staff Forward Deployed Engineer roles, then trains engineers against the interview rounds those hiring loops use.
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