OpenAI Forward Deployed Engineer: what the postings ask for
Published
OpenAI posts Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) roles, Deployment Lead roles, Forward Deployed Software Engineer roles and related Manager titles. In FDE Dispatch's October 24, 2026 snapshot of public job boards, OpenAI accounts for 32 of 725 FDE-family postings (4.4%) across 121 employers: 29 engineer-family and 3 management. 28 list hybrid workplace type, 1 onsite, 1 remote-listed and 3 leave workplace blank. Travel appears in 28 postings, with a percentage in 26, most commonly 50%. 16 are US-located and 16 are outside the US. US posted pay repeats a few ranges, for example engineer $185,000 to $300,000; posted ranges are not offers. FDE Dispatch is not affiliated with OpenAI; the figures come from OpenAI's public job postings.
What OpenAI calls the role
OpenAI posts Forward Deployed Engineer titles alongside Deployment Lead, Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Forward Deployed Security Engineer, Partner AI Deployment Engineer and Manager titles.
Of the 32 OpenAI postings in this snapshot, 29 are engineer-family and 3 are management. Title families: Forward Deployed Engineer (19), Deployment Lead (4), Forward Deployed Software Engineer (4), Manager, Forward Deployed / AI Deployment (3), Forward Deployed Security Engineer (1), and Partner AI Deployment Engineer (1). Some engineer titles name a vertical in the title string: Healthcare (3), Legal (2), Financial Services (1), Government (1), plus two Spanish-speaking seats. OpenAI does not post a Deployment Strategist title in this snapshot; for that paired track see deployment strategist vs forward deployed engineer and the Palantir Forward Deployed Engineer index.
Short definitions: Forward Deployed Engineer in the FDE glossary. Interview-round prep is on the FDE interview loop and the practice questions.
Where the roles are
16 of 32 OpenAI postings are US-located; the densest cities are New York City (7), San Francisco (4), Seattle (3) and Washington, DC (2). Outside the US, Singapore (3), Tokyo (3) and London (2) lead, with single postings in Madrid, Munich, Paris, Seoul, Sydney, Abu Dhabi, Zurich and Bangalore.
| Location | Postings |
|---|---|
| New York City | 7 |
| San Francisco | 4 |
| Singapore | 3 |
| Tokyo, Japan | 3 |
| Seattle | 3 |
| London, UK | 2 |
| Washington, DC | 2 |
Workplace type: 28 hybrid, 1 onsite, 1 remote-listed (Bangalore - Remote), and 3 with workplace type blank. These counts are open postings on one day. Full metro and remote figures across all employers are on Forward Deployed Engineer jobs by location.
OpenAI's Forward Deployed Engineer postings lean hybrid, with 50% travel stated on 24 of 26 postings that give a percentage. FDE Dispatch trains engineers for the customer-facing interview rounds those hiring loops use.
How much OpenAI Forward Deployed roles travel
Travel appears in 28 of 32 OpenAI postings (87.5%), and 26 state a percentage; the median stated upper bound is 50%, against 30% across all employers on how much forward deployed engineers travel.
Normalized bands: 50% on 24 postings, 40% on 1, and 25% on 1. OpenAI's stated travel sits above the all-employer median upper bound of 30% from the same October 24, 2026 snapshot.
What OpenAI posts for pay
US posted pay for OpenAI repeats a few ranges by role family; posted ranges are not offers, and the all-employer US engineer median midpoint on Forward Deployed Engineer salary is $216,104.
| Role family | US postings with USD pay | Posted ranges (count) |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer | 15 | $185,000 to $300,000 (8); $230,000 to $294,000 (2); $153,000 to $325,000 (2); $266,000 to $445,000 (1); $185,000 to $325,000 (1); $145,800 to $280,000 (1) |
| Management | 1 | $302,000 to $385,000 (1) |
Sixteen OpenAI postings list no US USD pay range in the snapshot fields (including every non-US seat). Employer-once median midpoint across all FDE employers is $208,000; OpenAI's most common engineer band of $185,000 to $300,000 has a midpoint above the all-employer US engineer median midpoint of $216,104.
How OpenAI's mix compares to other employers
OpenAI is 32 of 725 in-page-stat postings (4.4%) across 121 employers, with 1 remote-listed against 199 remote-listed (27.4%) across the full snapshot on the locations index.
The other 120 employers account for the remaining 693 postings. OpenAI's workplace mix is 28 hybrid, 1 onsite and 3 blank. On travel, OpenAI's median stated upper bound (50%) sits above the all-employer median (30%). On pay, OpenAI's most common US engineer range ($185,000 to $300,000) has a midpoint above the all-employer US engineer median midpoint ($216,104). Title text marks no new-grad or internship OpenAI seats in this cut. These counts are open postings on one pull date. FDE Dispatch is not affiliated with OpenAI.
Method and data
Population: 32 OpenAI postings with in_page_stats among the 725 FDE-family postings from 121 employers counted on the salary, job titles, locations and travel pages. Public Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby and Workday boards; snapshot pulled October 24, 2026. Recruiting agencies and duplicates removed.
Title families and vertical labels: keyword match on the posting title. The intern column is false for every OpenAI row in this snapshot; early-career counts use title text and find none.
Travel: upper bound = largest number in the stated percentage string; bands normalize en-dash and hyphen variants. Workplace: workplace_type lowercased (OnSite to onsite, Hybrid to hybrid). US pay: US-only location, USD range posted, first range on the posting. Posted ranges are not offers.
These 32 listings were live on the October 24, 2026 snapshot. The ATS posted_or_updated field can show dates earlier for evergreen listings; it is not a posting-date range and should not be read as when the role opened.
Downloads: OpenAI JSON, field notes, and the per-posting postings JSON. All published datasets are listed on FDE Dispatch job-posting data. Built by scripts/build-openai-aggregate.py.
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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
- Entry-level Forward Deployed Engineer jobs
- The FDE interview loop, explained
- FDE interview loop field guide
- FDE interview practice questions
- Forward Deployed Engineer job titles
- Forward Deployed Engineer jobs by location
- Forward Deployed Engineer skills
- Forward Deployed Engineer resume
- Forward Deployed Engineer salary
- How much do forward deployed engineers travel?
- Deployment strategist vs forward deployed engineer
- Palantir Forward Deployed Engineer
- How to hire a Forward Deployed Engineer
- 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
- FDE Dispatch job-posting data
Questions people ask
What does OpenAI call the Forward Deployed Engineer role?
OpenAI posts Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) titles, Deployment Lead titles, Forward Deployed Software Engineer titles, one Forward Deployed Security Engineer title, one Partner AI Deployment Engineer title, and Manager titles over Forward Deployed / AI Deployment Engineering. In the October 24, 2026 snapshot, 29 of OpenAI's 32 postings are engineer-family and 3 are management. Title families: Forward Deployed Engineer (19), Deployment Lead (4), Forward Deployed Software Engineer (4), Manager (3), Forward Deployed Security Engineer (1) and Partner AI Deployment Engineer (1).
How much do OpenAI Forward Deployed Engineers travel?
Travel is mentioned in 28 of OpenAI's 32 postings (87.5%), and 26 state a percentage. The median stated upper bound is 50%, against 30% across all employers on the travel page. Normalized bands: 24 postings at 50%, 1 at 40%, and 1 at 25%.
What pay does OpenAI post for Forward Deployed Engineer roles?
Among US-located USD postings, engineer-family pay appears as repeated ranges: $185,000 to $300,000 (8), $230,000 to $294,000 (2), $153,000 to $325,000 (2), plus three other ranges once each. Management pay appears once at $302,000 to $385,000. Posted ranges are not offers. Across all employers, the US engineer median midpoint is $216,104.
Are OpenAI Forward Deployed roles remote?
One of OpenAI's 32 postings lists remote (Bangalore - Remote). 28 are hybrid, 1 is onsite, and 3 leave workplace type blank. Across the full 725-posting snapshot, 199 postings (27.4%) list remote on the locations index.
Does OpenAI hire new grads and interns for Forward Deployed roles?
Not in this snapshot by title text: 0 new-grad titles and 0 internship titles among OpenAI's 32 postings. The dataset intern flag is also false for every OpenAI row.
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