ZipProduction engineering
Software Engineer, Forward Deployed (Mid - Senior Level)
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$150,000–$250,000
FDE jobs across the US
118 postings from 48 employers, read for the kind of work, pay and travel each one describes.
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Pay$150,000+
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
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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 stagesPre-sales / evaluation
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Estimated from the job description, not measured working hours.
Who you build for
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118 jobs match
Location
Selected metros or remote. Remote jobs may have residency restrictions.
118 jobs match
$150,000+
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.
118 jobs match
Arrangement
118 jobs match
Type of work
118 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.
118 jobs match
Experience
Postings that ask for that many years or fewer, plus postings that state no requirement. The kind of experience still matters.
118 jobs match
Posted
118 jobs match
Travel
Postings that do not mention travel are treated as no travel, so they are left out of 25% or more.
118 jobs match
118 jobs
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Digital Native Business
San Francisco, CA
$182,000–$250,208
$140,000–$190,000
$189,000–$330,000
$145,000–$180,000
Snorkel AIProduction engineering
Senior/Staff FDE - CUA
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$180,000–$320,000
$185,000–$300,000
BCGProduction engineering
Forward Deployed AI Scientist, Campus, United States - BCG X
Boston, MA · Chicago, IL · +10 moreBoston, MA +11On-site
$110,000–$190,000
$250,000–$280,000
Snorkel AIProduction engineering
Senior/Staff FDE - Synthetic Data Generation
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$180,000–$320,000
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Senior Software Engineer (Forward Deployed)
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$180,000–$264,000
$185,000–$300,000
DatabricksProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Public Sector
US · city not listedHybrid
$152,900–$210,155
$155,000–$210,000 · OTE
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Staff Software Engineer (Forward Deployed)
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$210,000–$300,000
$185,000–$300,000
$182,000–$250,208
Scale AIProduction engineering
Staff Frontier Agents Engineer (Forward Deployed Engineering)
San Francisco, CA · New York, NY · +1 moreSan Francisco, CA +2
$252,000–$315,000
$118,400–$222,000
$185,000–$300,000
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Principal Backend Engineer (Forward Deployed)
New York, NYHybrid
$250,000–$300,000
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Communications, Media, Entertainment & Games
San Francisco, CA
$182,000–$250,208
$165,000–$330,000
OpenAIProduction engineering
Physical Design Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineering
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$260,000–$302,000
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Principal Software Engineer, Applied AI (Forward Deployed)
New York, NYHybrid
$209,000–$300,000
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Communications, Media, Entertainment & Games
Chicago, IL
$182,000–$250,208
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Staff Software Engineer, Applied AI (Forward Deployed)
New York, NYHybrid
$209,000–$300,000
$185,000–$325,000
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Healthcare & Life Sciences
Boston, MA
$182,000–$250,208
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Healthcare & Life Sciences
Chicago, ILRemote
$182,000–$250,208
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Healthcare & Life Sciences
Austin, TX
$182,000–$250,208
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Healthcare & Life Sciences
Atlanta, GA
$182,000–$250,208
$140,000–$170,000 · total compensation
$165,000–$330,000
$200,000–$400,000
$138,000–$170,000
$140,000–$170,000 · total compensation
$197,000–$280,000
$125,000–$220,000
PendoProduction engineering
Sr. Professional Services Engineer Consultant
Raleigh, NC · San Francisco, CARaleigh, NC +1Remote
$132,200–$175,000
Compare pay across US FDE roles →
Employer postings · Postings read on · Sources
Frequently asked questions
What do FDE jobs pay?
118 of 118 postings state a pay range. The median is $225,000, and half of them sit between $186,000 and $259,000, across 48 companies.
How much experience do FDE jobs require?
Of 118 postings, 55 state a minimum number of years, from 30 companies. The most common requirement is 3 to 5 years, in 26 of them. The rest ask for 6 to 9 years (20), 10 or more years (5) or under 3 years (4).
Which companies are hiring for FDE jobs?
These 118 postings come from 48 companies. The employers with the most postings are Databricks (15), OpenAI (15), Anthropic (7), Scale AI (7) and Decagon (5).
Are FDE jobs remote?
25 postings allow remote work from the US. Another 50 are hybrid and 14 are on-site. The remaining 29 say nothing about arrangement. Travel is mentioned in 59 of the 118 postings.
Counted over the 118 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