> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt. # Forward Deployed Software Engineer (Recent Graduate) Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/41a0b6e3ff27d353 CrossCountry Consulting posts a junior FDE role to build what the customer runs in Chicago, IL, at $95,000–$125,000 base, below the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,864 postings with pay. Design and implement data-driven solutions to client problems. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [CrossCountry Consulting](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/crosscountry-consulting) Posted Oct 27, 2026 by CrossCountry Consulting · open on Lever as of Nov 8, 2026 **$95,000–$125,000** + equity Chicago, IL Hybrid Full-time Design and implement data-driven solutions to client problems. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F41a0b6e3ff27d353&placement=top) - [View posting at CrossCountry Consulting](https://jobs.lever.co/crosscountry-consulting/10ecb553-0393-4e7b-af5a-88a1947a0769/apply) Free. Upload your resume once, see why each FDE role fits, and get introduced only when you say so. ## At a glance ### Posted base pay $95K–$125K Below the median Midpoint $110K · median $190K This job $95K to $125K. Senior FDE postings, 1,864 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### The work Builds what the customer runs Balance **Mostly building** Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations (not covered) Travel **Up to 50%** - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Individual contributor ### What they ask for Experience - **1+ years** Professional experience in an engineering or technical role (up to 1 year) Background - **Software engineering** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 1+ years. How many do you have? The posting reads as a senior role. What level are you at now? The job is in Chicago, IL. Could you work there? Which of these have you used in production? Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent. [What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths) ## Conditions - **Location**: Chicago, IL - **Work arrangement**: Hybrid - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Travel**: Up to 50% - **Pay**: ## More like this [CrossCountry Consulting](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/crosscountry-consulting) ### [Forward Deployed Software Engineer (Recent Graduate) - New York](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/1e5e62eedae452ef) New York, NY Hybrid 12d ago $100,000–$140,000 [Endeavor](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/endeavor) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer, Early Career](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/752543f4fa7aef23) Chicago, IL On-site 4mo ago $120,000–$140,000 [Palantir](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/palantir) ### [Year at Palantir - Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Internship - Commercial](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/dc81aeb609e6a2ab) Chicago, IL On-site 4mo ago $5,900–$10,500/mo - [Other jobs at CrossCountry Consulting (3)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/crosscountry-consulting) ## The job description from CrossCountry Consulting Posted by CrossCountry Consulting on Oct 27, 2026 By joining our team as a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will serve as a key member of our Data and AI Solutions team and partner with our customers to understand their most complex challenges and design and implement tailored solutions. You will bring your problem-solving ability, creativity, and technical expertise to help organizations put their data to work, solve critical business challenges, and drive meaningful impact. In this role, you’ll own end-to-end execution of high-impact projects while working across industries to solve complex, real-world problems. As an FDE, you will take ownership of projects from concept through implementation, working in small teams to deliver tailored technical solutions. Your work may span designing technical architecture, working with large-scale datasets, developing custom applications, collaborating with customer executives, and contributing to team strategy. ### What You'll Do: - Work directly with clients to understand their most pressing problems and design and implement data-driven solutions to address them. - Work in small teams with minimal supervision, taking ownership of high-impact projects from planning through implementation. - Discuss architecture with fellow engineers and establish strategy for your team. - Wrangle massive-scale data and code custom web applications to deliver client solutions. - Speak with client executives to share progress, gather input, and align on priorities. - Collaborate internally with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds, including other FDEs, product teams, and strategy teams. - Work externally with clients, often on site, to understand and tackle their priorities. ### What You’ll Bring: - Ability to learn continuously, work independently, and make decisions with minimal direction. - Ability to collaborate in teams of technical and non-technical individuals, and comfort working in a constantly evolving environment with dynamic objectives and iterative work with users. - An eagerness to creatively solve technical problems using data structures, storage systems, cloud infrastructure, front-end frameworks, and other technical tools. - Interest in working with and using large-scale data to solve valuable business problems. - Willingness and interest to travel as needed to client sites; travel of 25-50% is expected, though requirements vary by team and location. ### Qualifications: - Must complete degree program by January 2027. - Recent graduate with up to 1 year of professional experience in engineering or technical role. - Engineering background, preferably in fields such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Physics, and Data Science. - Proficiency with one or more programming languages, such as Python, Java, C++, TypeScript/JavaScript, or similar. For applicants located in Illinois, CrossCountry Consulting is required to include an estimate of the compensation range for this role. The following range takes into account a wide range of factors including but not limited to, skills, experience, education, licenses, certifications, business needs, and internal equity. An estimate of the current range is $95,000 - $125,000 per year + annual bonus + additional benefits. [View posting at CrossCountry Consulting](https://jobs.lever.co/crosscountry-consulting/10ecb553-0393-4e7b-af5a-88a1947a0769/apply) ## About CrossCountry Consulting Advisory and technology firm helping CFOs, corporate leaders, and private-equity sponsors improve finance, accounting, risk, and operations. Late-stage private · 1000–2000 people ## Similar jobs [PwC (US)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/pwc-us) ### [Forward Deployed Software Engineer-Palantir Foundry-Experienced Associate](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/4279b29bd63b4214) Chicago, IL · Raleigh, NC · +57 more Hybrid 2w ago $63,000–$140,000 [Accenture](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/accenture) ### [AI/ML Computational Science Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/71cc748f64219271) Chicago, IL 2mo ago $46,700–$162,000 [Asana](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/asana) ### [Technical Consultant](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/6a26e9926e95e269) Chicago, IL Hybrid 7w ago $120,000–$136,000 [Salesforce](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/salesforce) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) (Mid/Senior Level)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/2a5e1855e6916121) San Francisco, CA · Seattle, WA · +8 more Remote 4mo ago $88,970–$198,170 [Capgemini](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/capgemini) ### [GECX AI Forward Deployed Engineer - Software Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/9b85c97edbcd1270) Atlanta, GA · Dallas, TX · +3 more Hybrid 3w ago $76,730–$150,800 - [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior) - [Similar jobs in Chicago](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?region=chicagoland) - [Similar jobs that build what the customer runs](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=builds-for-customers) Hiring at CrossCountry Consulting and want this page changed or removed? 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