OpenAI , Anthropic , and other artificial intelligence (AI) companies are actively hiring a specialised type of software developer known as a forward-deployed engineer (FDE). These engineers are rare because they possess the dual skills of coding and direct customer communication. The recruitment drive is part of a strategy to increase revenue by embedding these specialists within client businesses. FDEs help customers customise and integrate the AI companies' advanced models. Demand for these customer-facing AI roles has increased significantly in 2025.
According to a Financial Times report, data from the jobs platform Indeed shows that monthly job listings for FDEs increased by more than 800% between January and September this year. This move comes as companies across sectors, from manufacturing to healthcare, are eager to use AI tools but often don’t know how to apply them effectively or turn them into a profitable business.
What AI companies said about hiring forward-deployed engineers
OpenAI established its FDE team at the start of this year and expects it to grow to about 50 engineers in Europe and the Middle East in 2025, Arnaud Fournier, who leads the region's FDEs, said to FT. Although FDEs make up a relatively small share of AI companies’ teams, OpenAI noted that demand for these roles has exceeded expectations.
OpenAI applied this model to tailor its technology for John Deere, an agricultural machinery company, helping to create more accurate farming tools. This enabled farmers to cut chemical spraying by 60 to 70 per cent.
Fournier added: “We learn what customers in different industries really need, we experiment and innovate together, and then those insights help advance OpenAI’s research and product offerings based on what works in the real world.”
Meanwhile, Anthropic also announced plans to grow its applied AI team, which includes FDEs and product engineers, by five times this year to meet customer demand.
“A Fortune 500 bank has completely different needs than a start-up building an AI-native product,” said Cat de Jong, head of applied AI at Anthropic.
Nic Prettejohn, head of AI in the UK at Palantir , described the company’s approach as “product discovery from the inside.”
“You want to build something that when you present to the customer, they say, ‘that’s a game-changer,’” he added.
Palantir stated that it introduced this role nearly twenty years ago, and FDEs now make up about half of its workforce. The idea originated in the military, where soldiers were forward-deployed to foreign regions. Palantir has assigned its FDEs to Afghan and Iraqi military bases, factory floors in the US Midwest, and oil refineries.
The company typically sends customers a duo of employees, known internally as “Echo” and “Delta.” “Echo” focuses on understanding the customer’s needs, while “Delta” brings the technical expertise to develop the solution.
Prettejohn said: “[Forward-deployed engineers] know that the only valuable software is not how exquisite its code is or how beautiful the language . . . It’s only valuable if it means something for the end customer.”
Other AI start-ups are looking to follow Palantir’s model. Cohere ’s co-founder and chief executive, Aidan Gomez, said that placing engineers early in the customer’s contract helps form lasting partnerships.
“We embed engineers at the start of work to ensure customers get exactly what they need and scale back once companies are up and running,” Gomez said.
According to a Financial Times report, data from the jobs platform Indeed shows that monthly job listings for FDEs increased by more than 800% between January and September this year. This move comes as companies across sectors, from manufacturing to healthcare, are eager to use AI tools but often don’t know how to apply them effectively or turn them into a profitable business.
What AI companies said about hiring forward-deployed engineers
OpenAI established its FDE team at the start of this year and expects it to grow to about 50 engineers in Europe and the Middle East in 2025, Arnaud Fournier, who leads the region's FDEs, said to FT. Although FDEs make up a relatively small share of AI companies’ teams, OpenAI noted that demand for these roles has exceeded expectations.
OpenAI applied this model to tailor its technology for John Deere, an agricultural machinery company, helping to create more accurate farming tools. This enabled farmers to cut chemical spraying by 60 to 70 per cent.
Fournier added: “We learn what customers in different industries really need, we experiment and innovate together, and then those insights help advance OpenAI’s research and product offerings based on what works in the real world.”
Meanwhile, Anthropic also announced plans to grow its applied AI team, which includes FDEs and product engineers, by five times this year to meet customer demand.
“A Fortune 500 bank has completely different needs than a start-up building an AI-native product,” said Cat de Jong, head of applied AI at Anthropic.
Nic Prettejohn, head of AI in the UK at Palantir , described the company’s approach as “product discovery from the inside.”
“You want to build something that when you present to the customer, they say, ‘that’s a game-changer,’” he added.
Palantir stated that it introduced this role nearly twenty years ago, and FDEs now make up about half of its workforce. The idea originated in the military, where soldiers were forward-deployed to foreign regions. Palantir has assigned its FDEs to Afghan and Iraqi military bases, factory floors in the US Midwest, and oil refineries.
The company typically sends customers a duo of employees, known internally as “Echo” and “Delta.” “Echo” focuses on understanding the customer’s needs, while “Delta” brings the technical expertise to develop the solution.
Prettejohn said: “[Forward-deployed engineers] know that the only valuable software is not how exquisite its code is or how beautiful the language . . . It’s only valuable if it means something for the end customer.”
Other AI start-ups are looking to follow Palantir’s model. Cohere ’s co-founder and chief executive, Aidan Gomez, said that placing engineers early in the customer’s contract helps form lasting partnerships.
“We embed engineers at the start of work to ensure customers get exactly what they need and scale back once companies are up and running,” Gomez said.
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