OpenAIProduction engineering
Physical Design Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineering
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$260,000–$302,000
FDE jobs across the US
33 postings from 18 employers, read for the kind of work, pay and travel each one describes.
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Pay$240,000+
Matches the top of the posted range, annualized in US dollars and sometimes including variable pay. Postings with no posted range are hidden when you choose an amount.
Arrangement
Type of work
Level
Our reading of the role, not the employer’s title. Junior: guided work; Mid: independent delivery; Senior: leads an ambiguous project through production; Staff+: leads across teams or projects.
Experience
Postings that ask for that many years or fewer, plus postings that state no requirement. The kind of experience still matters.
Posted
Travel
Postings that do not mention travel are treated as no travel, so they are left out of 25% or more.
Individual contributor or manager
Company stageLater private
Coding work
Project stages
Implementation shareMixed responsibilities (30–59%)
Estimated from the job description, not measured working hours.
Who you build for
Visa sponsorship
Company size
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33 jobs match
Location
Selected metros or remote. Remote jobs may have residency restrictions.
33 jobs match
$240,000+
Matches the top of the posted range, annualized in US dollars and sometimes including variable pay. Postings with no posted range are hidden when you choose an amount.
33 jobs match
Arrangement
33 jobs match
Type of work
33 jobs match
Level
Our reading of the role, not the employer’s title. Junior: guided work; Mid: independent delivery; Senior: leads an ambiguous project through production; Staff+: leads across teams or projects.
33 jobs match
Experience
Postings that ask for that many years or fewer, plus postings that state no requirement. The kind of experience still matters.
33 jobs match
Posted
33 jobs match
Travel
Postings that do not mention travel are treated as no travel, so they are left out of 25% or more.
33 jobs match
Mixed responsibilities (30–59%)
Estimated from the job description, not measured working hours.
33 jobs match
33 jobs
$200,000–$400,000
AnthropicProduction engineering
Applied AI Engineer, Enterprise Tech
San Francisco, CA · New York, NY · +1 moreSan Francisco, CA +2Hybrid
$200,000–$320,000
Scale AIProduction engineering
Senior Software Engineer, Public Sector
San Francisco, CA · Saint Louis, MO · +2 moreSan Francisco, CA +3On-site
$162,400–$311,000
$211,000–$302,000
OpenAIProduction engineering
Applied AI Engineer, Digital Natives
San Francisco, CA · Seattle, WASan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$251,000–$278,000
$266,000–$362,000
OpenAIProduction engineering
Applied AI Engineer, Startups
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$211,000–$278,000
$210,000–$250,000
$200,000–$250,000
BasetenDeployment team leadership
Engineering Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering (LLM)
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$260,000–$380,000
$170,000–$280,000 · OTE
$200,000–$300,000
Snorkel AIDeployment team leadership
Head of Forward Deployed Engineering
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$268,800–$403,000
IntercomDeployment team leadership
Senior Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$252,000–$280,000
Snorkel AIDeployment team leadership
Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$200,000–$320,000
$200,000–$250,000
$200,000–$285,000
$205,000–$268,000
$208,000–$260,000
OpenAIImplementation & delivery
Partner Applied AI Engineer
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$197,000–$278,000
VercelImplementation & delivery
Solutions Architect
San Francisco, CA · New York, NY · +1 moreSan Francisco, CA +2Hybrid
$190,000–$340,000 · OTE
$200,000–$285,000
$211,000–$278,000
$200,000–$285,000
AnthropicTechnical pre-sales
Applied AI, Research Engineer
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$300,000–$400,000
$167,000–$248,000
Applied IntuitionDeployment team leadership
Engineering Manager - Forward Deployment (Defense)
Arlington, VAOn-site
$250,000–$300,000
$220,000–$292,000
AnthropicTechnical pre-sales
Applied AI Architect, Cyber
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$240,000–$315,000
$200,000–$250,000
Scale AIDeployment team leadership
Frontier Agent Engineering Manager, Enterprise
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1
$252,000–$315,000
AnthropicDeployment team leadership
Manager, Applied AI Engineering, Beneficial Deployments (Life Sciences)
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$320,000–$405,000
Compare pay across US FDE roles →
Employer postings · Postings read on · Sources
Frequently asked questions
What do FDE jobs pay?
33 of 33 postings state a pay range. The median is $256,000, and half of them sit between $237,000 and $278,000, across 18 companies.
How much experience do FDE jobs require?
Of 33 postings, 13 state a minimum number of years, from 9 companies. The most common requirement is 3 to 5 years, in 7 of them. The rest ask for 6 to 9 years (6).
Which companies are hiring for FDE jobs?
These 33 postings come from 18 companies. The employers with the most postings are OpenAI (7), Anthropic (4), Decagon (4), CHAOS Industries (2) and Scale AI (2).
Are FDE jobs remote?
2 postings allow remote work from the US. Another 16 are hybrid and 9 are on-site. The remaining 6 say nothing about arrangement. Travel is mentioned in 10 of the 33 postings.
Counted over the 33 postings in this search. Postings read on September 18, 2026. These are the postings Nextmove tracks today, not a market survey.
Browse jobs by location and work
FDE jobs by location
- SF Bay Area · 688 jobs · 288 companies · 688
- New York metro · 599 jobs · 264 companies · 599
- Washington, DC area · 303 jobs · 75 companies · 303
- Seattle area · 153 jobs · 54 companies · 153
- Chicago · 136 jobs · 46 companies · 136
- Dallas–Fort Worth · 125 jobs · 34 companies · 125
- Los Angeles · 123 jobs · 50 companies · 123
- Austin · 117 jobs · 52 companies · 117
- Boston area · 109 jobs · 46 companies · 109
- Atlanta · 90 jobs · 33 companies · 90
- Denver–Boulder · 77 jobs · 22 companies · 77
- Houston · 49 jobs · 16 companies · 49
- San Diego · 44 jobs · 12 companies · 44
- Raleigh–Durham · 43 jobs · 17 companies · 43
- Miami · 37 jobs · 12 companies · 37
- Philadelphia · 37 jobs · 11 companies · 37
- Minneapolis–St. Paul · 37 jobs · 8 companies · 37
- Kansas City · 28 jobs · 5 companies · 28
- Phoenix · 23 jobs · 5 companies · 23
- Portland · 22 jobs · 5 companies · 22
- Salt Lake City · 4 jobs · 3 companies · 4
FDE jobs by work arrangement
FDE jobs by kind of work
- Production engineering · 1083 jobs · 384 companies · 1083
- Internal deployment & tooling · 399 jobs · 253 companies · 399
- Implementation & delivery · 364 jobs · 209 companies · 364
- Deployment strategy · 163 jobs · 92 companies · 163
- Deployment team leadership · 104 jobs · 71 companies · 104
- Technical pre-sales · 43 jobs · 27 companies · 43
- Customer adoption & accounts · 22 jobs · 20 companies · 22
FDE jobs by level
FDE jobs by individual contributor or manager
- Individual contributor · 1090 jobs · 497 companies · 1090
- Technical lead · 966 jobs · 398 companies · 966
- People manager · 103 jobs · 77 companies · 103
FDE jobs by company stage
- Public · 587 jobs · 122 companies · 587
- Later private · 546 jobs · 159 companies · 546
- Growth (Series B–C) · 349 jobs · 146 companies · 349
- Early (pre-seed–Series A) · 214 jobs · 108 companies · 214
- Bootstrapped · 60 jobs · 28 companies · 60
- Subsidiary · 54 jobs · 27 companies · 54
FDE jobs by coding work
- Production code · 1678 jobs · 625 companies · 1678
- Configuration / integration · 260 jobs · 162 companies · 260
- Prototypes / scripts · 98 jobs · 62 companies · 98
- No coding · 66 jobs · 45 companies · 66
FDE jobs by project stage
- Implementation / production · 2105 jobs · 709 companies · 2105
- Ongoing operations · 1629 jobs · 621 companies · 1629
- Proof of concept · 787 jobs · 335 companies · 787
- Pre-sales / evaluation · 606 jobs · 265 companies · 606
FDE jobs by who you build for
- External customers · 1656 jobs · 525 companies · 1656
- Internal teams · 334 jobs · 223 companies · 334
- Both · 157 jobs · 106 companies · 157
FDE jobs by visa sponsorship
- Available · 69 jobs · 19 companies · 69
FDE jobs by travel
- 25% or more · 448 jobs · 140 companies · 448