The FDE blog.
Guides for the path into forward deployed engineering: find the role, pass the interview, learn the craft. Every figure comes from the FDEBench job board, refreshed every week.
Find the role
What the job is, who hires and what it pays
What is a forward deployed engineer?What is a forward deployed engineer? The FDE meaning, what the work looks like week to week, who hires them and what they're paid, from live board data.Read 
How much do forward deployed engineers make?Forward deployed engineer salary by level, from 462 US listings that post pay, plus where the roles are, who hires most and the skills they ask for.Read 
FDE vs solutions engineer vs ML engineer: what's the difference?FDE vs solutions engineer vs ML engineer: when each works in the deal, what they ship, what the interview tests, and how to spot each in a job posting.Read 
How to read a forward deployed engineer job postingHow to read a forward deployed engineer job posting: the signs of real FDE work, the red flags for pre-sales roles, and what to ask in the final round.Read
Prepare for the interview
Each round, and how to answer it
The forward deployed engineer interview, round by roundForward deployed engineer interview prep: what each FDE round tests, a framework for each one, and practice questions with full scoring rubrics.Read 
RAG interview questions: what FDE loops ask and how answers are scoredRAG interview questions from FDE and AI engineering loops: what to ask first, hybrid vs agentic retrieval, numbers to estimate and mistakes that cost points.Read 
AI agent interview questions: how agent design rounds are scoredAI agent interview questions for FDE and AI engineering loops: one agent or several, where guardrails go, memory, the numbers to estimate and what loses points.Read 
LLM cost and latency interview questions: caching, routing and the math to say out loudLLM cost and latency interview questions for FDE and AI engineers: caching layers, model routing, the token math to do out loud and mistakes that cost points.Read 
AI evaluation interview questions: evals, metrics and production readinessAI evaluation interview questions for FDE and AI engineers: what to define first, which eval methods to name, the sample-size math and the go/no-go gates.Read 
The customer round: scoping, demos and handoffThe FDE customer interview round explained: how to scope a vague ask, handle a stakeholder role-play, present a demo and plan the handoff.Read
Learn the craft
The skills, the path in and the work itself
How to become a forward deployed engineerHow to become a forward deployed engineer: the backgrounds that map in, a skills self-assessment, what to learn first, the portfolio and the interview.Read 
How forward deployed engineering teams workHow forward deployed engineering teams work: pods, reference architectures, the first weeks on an account, the handoff, and what it means for your interview.Read
Want it taught live?
Six weeks with a cohort and four projects, built end to end. The next one starts 14 Nov.