Founding Forward Deployed Engineer - US
San Francisco, CA · Austin, TX · +1 moreSan Francisco, CA +2Hybrid
Pay not posted
FDE jobs that build what the customer runs
839 postings · 339 companies · 625 state pay: median $208,000, half $170,000–$233,000
Postings read on
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Location
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Pay
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 workBuilds what the customer runs
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.
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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
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Estimated from the job description, not measured working hours.
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Company size
Estimated from public information about the company. Bands are approximate. Companies without a stated size are listed as not stated.
839 jobs match
Location
Selected metros or remote. Remote jobs may have residency restrictions.
839 jobs match
Pay
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.
839 jobs match
Arrangement
839 jobs match
Builds what the customer runs
839 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.
839 jobs match
Experience
Postings that ask for that many years or fewer, plus postings that state no requirement. The kind of experience still matters.
839 jobs match
Posted
839 jobs match
Travel
Postings that do not mention travel are treated as no travel, so they are left out of 25% or more.
839 jobs match
Pay not posted
$185,000–$300,000
$153,000–$376,000
Pay not posted
$182,000–$250,208
$194,400–$228,800
$180,000–$300,000
$150,000–$200,000
$100,000–$160,000
$194,400–$228,800
$182,000–$250,208
$155,000–$193,000
$190,000–$240,000
Pay not posted
$182,000–$250,208
Pay not posted
$144,000–$200,000
Pay not posted
$182,000–$250,208
$112,400–$171,600
$144,000–$200,000
$201,300–$352,300
$182,000–$250,208
$200,000–$240,000
Founding Forward Deployed Engineer - US
San Francisco, CA · Austin, TX · +1 moreSan Francisco, CA +2Hybrid
Pay not posted
$200,000–$400,000
$182,000–$250,208
$160,000–$220,000
$91,000–$110,000
$150,000–$180,000
$182,000–$250,208
$250,000–$280,000
$167,000–$196,000
Senior Software Engineer (Forward Deployed)
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Hybrid
$180,000–$264,000
$182,000–$250,208
Pay not posted
Pay not posted
$130,000–$275,000
$182,000–$250,208
All 839 build what the customer runs.
Frequently asked questions
What do FDE jobs that build what the customer runs pay?
625 of 839 postings state a pay range. The median is $208,000, and half of them sit between $170,000 and $233,000, from 244 companies.
How much experience do FDE jobs that build what the customer runs require?
Of 839 postings, 335 state a minimum number of years, from 163 companies. The most common requirement is 3 to 5 years, in 156 of them. The rest ask for 6 to 9 years (117), under 3 years (48) or 10 or more years (14).
Which companies are hiring for FDE jobs that build what the customer runs?
These 839 postings come from 339 companies. The employers with the most postings are Databricks (59), Accenture (43), Palantir (35), OpenAI (26) and Anduril (24).
Are FDE jobs that build what the customer runs remote?
142 postings allow remote work from the US. Another 260 are hybrid and 225 are on-site. The remaining 212 say nothing about arrangement. Travel is mentioned in 407 of the 839 postings.
Counted over the 839 postings in this search. Postings read on September 21, 2026. These are the postings Nextmove tracks today, not a market survey.
Employer postings · How we read postings