> 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 Engineer (FDE) Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/7a42ea1d94e827c7 People Culture Talent posts a FDE role to build what the customer runs in San Francisco, CA with no pay posted. Partner with customers to understand technical requirements, workflows, and business challenges. Read from the employer’s posting on November 6, 2026. - [People Culture Talent](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/people-culture-talent) Posted Sep 8, 2026 by People Culture Talent · open on Ashby as of Nov 6, 2026 Pay not posted San Francisco, CA On-site Full-time Partner with customers to understand technical requirements, workflows, and business challenges. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F7a42ea1d94e827c7&placement=top) - [View posting at People Culture Talent](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/people-culture-talent/6655c179-5130-4897-8126-96f4f57a39cc/application) 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 Not posted Senior FDE postings, 1,849 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### The work Builds what the customer runs Balance **Mixed** Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Individual contributor ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting reads as a senior role. What level are you at now? The job is in San Francisco, CA. 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**: San Francisco, CA - **Work arrangement**: On-site - **Employment type**: Full-time ## More like this [Decagon](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/decagon) ### [Agent Deployment Engineer - Spanish Speaking](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/3a43d393a714090b) San Francisco, CA On-site 3mo ago $175,000–$230,000 [Squint](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/squint) ### [Deployment Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/87c003c8d36a7a5c) San Francisco, CA On-site 3mo ago $180,000–$220,000 [Writer](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/writer) ### [AI deployment engineer (Central)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f106a3ca48ce33ec) San Francisco, CA · Chicago, IL · +3 more Hybrid New · 4d ago $132,000–$184,000 ## The job description from People Culture Talent Posted by People Culture Talent on Sep 8, 2026 PCT partners with venture-backed technology companies looking for **Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs)** who can bridge the gap between sophisticated technology and real-world customer problems. These roles are ideal for engineers who enjoy working directly with customers, navigating ambiguous technical challenges, and building solutions that make technology useful in complex production environments. Depending on the company, Forward Deployed Engineers may work alongside customers from initial implementation through deployment, integration, and ongoing product development. ### What You Might Work On - Partner directly with customers to understand their technical requirements, workflows, and business challenges. - Design, build, and deploy solutions using the company's core technology. - Develop integrations, applications, APIs, data pipelines, or custom technical solutions. - Work across engineering, product, sales, and customer teams to drive successful deployments. - Debug complex technical issues across customer and product environments. - Translate customer needs and recurring challenges into product and engineering insights. - Help develop reusable tools, infrastructure, and best practices that make future deployments faster and more scalable. - Serve as a trusted technical partner to customers throughout implementation and adoption. ### What We're Looking For While requirements vary across our client companies, strong candidates often bring: - A strong software engineering foundation and experience building production systems. - The ability to quickly understand unfamiliar systems, codebases, and technical environments. - Strong problem-solving skills and comfort operating in ambiguous situations. - Excellent communication skills and an ability to work directly with technical and non-technical stakeholders. - A customer-oriented mindset combined with strong engineering judgment. - Comfort moving between coding, architecture, debugging, implementation, and customer conversations. - Excitement about working close to the customer and seeing the direct impact of what you build. When you apply, tell us about the types of technical problems you enjoy solving, your experience working with customers or external stakeholders, and the environments you're interested in. We'll use that information to identify opportunities across our client portfolio that may be a strong fit. ### About PCT **People Culture Talent** helps VCs and venture-backed startups build thriving teams through exceptional Human Capital Management. We create people-first talent strategies for high-growth companies, partnering with organizations from pre-seed to IPO to transform their growth into a masterclass in scaling with purpose. ### About Our Client Companies PCT partners with exceptional venture-backed companies to build resilient, people-centric, diverse teams. Our clients span industries and stages, from pre-seed startups to companies preparing for IPO, including leading tech organizations like **Notion, Lyft, Modern Health, Instacart, Uber, Google, Render, and GitHub**. Our clients are building innovative technology across a range of industries and are looking for engineers who can turn sophisticated products into solutions that create meaningful value for their customers. These companies share a commitment to building strong culture, high-performing teams, and innovative people programs. They're growing fast, scaling thoughtfully, and seeking exceptional talent to join their journey. [View posting at People Culture Talent](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/people-culture-talent/6655c179-5130-4897-8126-96f4f57a39cc/application) ## About People Culture Talent Embedded people, culture, and talent partner offering advisory, systems implementation, and retained or embedded talent search to venture-backed companies. 1–10 people ## Similar jobs [Distyl AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/distyl-ai) ### [AI Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/2625d8a6aa23c2b2) San Francisco, CA · New York, NY Hybrid 4mo ago $180,000–$250,000 [Amplitude](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/amplitude) ### [Senior Software Engineer ](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/aef2257b5e0e7b37) San Francisco, CA Hybrid 2mo ago $183,000–$276,000 [Analog Devices](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/analog-devices) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/45fca47921975204) San Jose, CA · Boston, MA 2mo ago $230,000–$316,250 [OpenAI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/openai) ### [Backend Software Engineer - Codex for Finance](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/3b68312a1c4c0445) San Francisco, CA Hybrid 2mo ago $347,000–$385,000 [Monaco](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/monaco) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/7b17a63586ec69e2) San Francisco, CA On-site 3mo ago $200,000–$400,000 - [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior) - [Similar jobs in SF Bay Area](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?region=sf-bay-area) - [Similar jobs that build what the customer runs](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?role=builds-for-customers) Hiring at People Culture Talent and want this page changed or removed? 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