ZipProduction engineering
Software Engineer, Forward Deployed (Mid - Senior Level)
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$150,000–$250,000
FDE jobs across the US
114 postings from 38 employers, read for the kind of work, pay and travel each one describes.
All filters
Counts show jobs matching each option and your other filters. Select several options to match any of them.
Location
Selected metros or remote. Remote jobs may have residency restrictions.
Pay$210,000+
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.
ArrangementHybrid
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 share
Estimated from the job description, not measured working hours.
Who you build for
Visa sponsorship
Company size
Estimated from public information about the company. Bands are approximate. Companies without a stated size are listed as not stated.
114 jobs match
Location
Selected metros or remote. Remote jobs may have residency restrictions.
114 jobs match
$210,000+
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.
114 jobs match
Hybrid
114 jobs match
Type of work
114 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.
114 jobs match
Experience
Postings that ask for that many years or fewer, plus postings that state no requirement. The kind of experience still matters.
114 jobs match
Posted
114 jobs match
Travel
Postings that do not mention travel are treated as no travel, so they are left out of 25% or more.
114 jobs match
Later private
114 jobs match
114 jobs
$206,600–$229,000
$185,000–$300,000
SecurityScorecardProduction engineering
Senior Forward Deployed Engineer
New York, NY · Austin, TXNew York, NY +1Hybrid
$200,000–$260,000
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Public Sector/National Security
Washington, DCHybrid
$182,000–$250,208
$189,000–$330,000
$185,000–$300,000
Snorkel AIProduction engineering
Senior/Staff FDE - CUA
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$180,000–$320,000
$182,000–$250,208
$194,400–$228,800
$185,000–$300,000
Snorkel AIProduction engineering
Senior/Staff FDE - Synthetic Data Generation
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$180,000–$320,000
$180,000–$300,000
$200,000–$400,000
$185,000–$300,000
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Public Sector
Washington, DCHybrid
$182,000–$250,208
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Senior Software Engineer (Forward Deployed)
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$180,000–$264,000
AnthropicProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Engineer
New York, NY · San Francisco, CA · +1 moreNew York, NY +2Hybrid
$280,000–$320,000
$185,000–$300,000
DatabricksProduction engineering
Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer - National Security
US · city not listedHybrid
$182,000–$250,208
$189,000–$330,000
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
$156,060–$211,140
Scale AIProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Engineer, GenAI
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$179,400–$224,250
$185,000–$300,000
DatabricksProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Public Sector
US · city not listedHybrid
$152,900–$210,155
$168,912–$253,368
Scale AIProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Public Sector
Austin, TX · Colorado Springs, CO · +4 moreAustin, TX +5Hybrid
$138,000–$292,560
OpenAIProduction engineering
Physical Design Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineering
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$260,000–$302,000
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Principal Backend Engineer (Forward Deployed)
New York, NYHybrid
$250,000–$300,000
$165,000–$330,000
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Principal Software Engineer, Applied AI (Forward Deployed)
New York, NYHybrid
$209,000–$300,000
$153,000–$325,000
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Senior Software Engineer, Applied AI (Forward Deployed)
New York, NYHybrid
$180,000–$264,000
$153,000–$325,000
Invisible TechnologiesProduction engineering
Staff Software Engineer, Applied AI (Forward Deployed)
New York, NYHybrid
$209,000–$300,000
$185,000–$325,000
OpenAIProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Engineer, Gov
Washington, DC · Seattle, WA · +1 moreWashington, DC +2Hybrid
$145,800–$280,000
Compare pay across US FDE roles →
Employer postings · Postings read on · Sources
Frequently asked questions
What do FDE jobs pay?
114 of 114 postings state a pay range. The median is $243,000, and half of them sit between $216,000 and $266,000, across 38 companies.
How much experience do FDE jobs require?
Of 114 postings, 67 state a minimum number of years, from 30 companies. The most common requirement is 3 to 5 years, in 31 of them. The rest ask for 6 to 9 years (26), under 3 years (5) or 10 or more years (5).
Which companies are hiring for FDE jobs?
These 114 postings come from 38 companies. The employers with the most postings are OpenAI (33), Anthropic (11), Databricks (7), Invisible Technologies (6) and Baseten (5).
Are FDE jobs remote?
0 postings allow remote work from the US. Another 114 are hybrid. Travel is mentioned in 54 of the 114 postings.
Counted over the 114 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 · 693 jobs · 289 companies · 693
- New York metro · 604 jobs · 265 companies · 604
- Washington, DC area · 305 jobs · 77 companies · 305
- Seattle area · 155 jobs · 54 companies · 155
- Chicago · 139 jobs · 46 companies · 139
- Los Angeles · 126 jobs · 51 companies · 126
- Dallas–Fort Worth · 125 jobs · 34 companies · 125
- Austin · 120 jobs · 52 companies · 120
- Boston area · 109 jobs · 46 companies · 109
- Atlanta · 94 jobs · 34 companies · 94
- Denver–Boulder · 80 jobs · 22 companies · 80
- Houston · 51 jobs · 16 companies · 51
- San Diego · 47 jobs · 12 companies · 47
- Raleigh–Durham · 45 jobs · 17 companies · 45
- Philadelphia · 39 jobs · 11 companies · 39
- Minneapolis–St. Paul · 39 jobs · 8 companies · 39
- Miami · 37 jobs · 12 companies · 37
- Kansas City · 30 jobs · 5 companies · 30
- Phoenix · 24 jobs · 5 companies · 24
- Portland · 24 jobs · 5 companies · 24
- Salt Lake City · 4 jobs · 3 companies · 4
FDE jobs by work arrangement
FDE jobs by kind of work
- Production engineering · 1093 jobs · 385 companies · 1093
- Internal deployment & tooling · 401 jobs · 255 companies · 401
- Implementation & delivery · 366 jobs · 211 companies · 366
- Deployment strategy · 164 jobs · 93 companies · 164
- Deployment team leadership · 104 jobs · 71 companies · 104
- Technical pre-sales · 43 jobs · 26 companies · 43
- Customer adoption & accounts · 22 jobs · 20 companies · 22
FDE jobs by level
FDE jobs by individual contributor or manager
- Individual contributor · 1094 jobs · 495 companies · 1094
- Technical lead · 983 jobs · 404 companies · 983
- People manager · 107 jobs · 79 companies · 107
FDE jobs by company stage
- Public · 600 jobs · 124 companies · 600
- Later private · 545 jobs · 160 companies · 545
- 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 · 55 jobs · 28 companies · 55
FDE jobs by coding work
- Production code · 1699 jobs · 631 companies · 1699
- Configuration / integration · 261 jobs · 162 companies · 261
- Prototypes / scripts · 100 jobs · 63 companies · 100
- No coding · 65 jobs · 45 companies · 65
FDE jobs by project stage
- Implementation / production · 2128 jobs · 715 companies · 2128
- Ongoing operations · 1651 jobs · 627 companies · 1651
- Proof of concept · 800 jobs · 343 companies · 800
- Pre-sales / evaluation · 614 jobs · 267 companies · 614
FDE jobs by who you build for
- External customers · 1671 jobs · 527 companies · 1671
- Internal teams · 338 jobs · 225 companies · 338
- Both · 162 jobs · 109 companies · 162
FDE jobs by visa sponsorship
- Available · 69 jobs · 19 companies · 69
FDE jobs by travel
- 25% or more · 454 jobs · 140 companies · 454