OpenAIProduction engineering
Physical Design Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineering
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$260,000–$302,000
FDE jobs across the US
888 postings from 348 employers, read for the kind of work, pay and travel each one describes.
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Arrangement
Type of workProduction engineering
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
TravelUp to 25%
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 stage
Coding work
Project stages
Implementation share
Estimated from the job description, not measured working hours.
Who you build for
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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.
888 jobs match
Location
Selected metros or remote. Remote jobs may have residency restrictions.
888 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.
888 jobs match
Arrangement
888 jobs match
Production engineering
888 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.
888 jobs match
Experience
Postings that ask for that many years or fewer, plus postings that state no requirement. The kind of experience still matters.
888 jobs match
Posted
888 jobs match
Up to 25%
Postings that do not mention travel are treated as no travel, so they are left out of 25% or more.
888 jobs match
888 jobs
$152,900–$210,155
$120,000–$200,000
PalantirProduction engineering
Year at Palantir - Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Internship - USG
New York, NYOn-site
$5,900–$10,500/mo
$140,000–$225,000
Pay not posted
Pay not posted
Pay not posted
$150,000–$300,000
Pay not posted
PalantirProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Software Engineer - US Government - Federal Health and Civilian
New York, NYHybrid
$135,000–$200,000
Pay not posted
Pay not posted
$148,000–$255,000
PalantirProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Software Engineer - US Government - Federal Health and Civilian
Washington, DCHybrid
$135,000–$200,000
$179,500–$224,300
Handshake (AI training)Production engineering
Forward Deployed Engineer, Enterprise AI
San Francisco, CAOn-site
$155,000–$300,000
$150,000–$180,000
Judi HealthProduction engineering
Senior Forward Deployed Engineer
Charlotte, NC · Denver, CO · +1 moreCharlotte, NC +2Hybrid
$116,400–$200,000
AmplitudeProduction engineering
Engineering: Senior Customer Forward Deployed Engineer
San Francisco, CA
Pay not posted
$150,000–$200,000
$130,000–$170,000
AdobeProduction engineering
Senior AEM Forward Deployed Engineer
San Jose, CA · Austin, TX · +3 moreSan Jose, CA +4
$159,200–$301,600
$150,000–$250,000
Pay not posted
$160,000–$210,000
BCGProduction engineering
(Senior) Forward Deployed AI Engineer, United States - BCG X
Boston, MA · New York, NY · +9 moreBoston, MA +10On-site
$110,000–$190,000
$150,000–$300,000
$135,000–$200,000
$230,000–$300,000
$200,000–$325,000
WarpProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Engineer
New York, NY · San Francisco, CANew York, NY +1Remote
$200,000–$250,000
$135,000–$200,000
$140,000–$160,000
Scale AIProduction engineering
Forward Deployed Engineer, GenAI
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$179,400–$224,250
$190,400–$285,600
$140,000–$220,000
$135,000–$200,000
VercelProduction engineering
Forward-Deployed Engineer
San Francisco, CA · New York, NY · +1 moreSan Francisco, CA +2Hybrid
$137,000–$207,000
VapiProduction engineering
Member of Technical Staff, Forward Deployed
San Francisco, CA · New York, NYSan Francisco, CA +1Hybrid
$200,000–$280,000
Compare pay across US FDE roles →
Employer postings · Postings read on · Sources
Frequently asked questions
What do FDE jobs pay?
679 of 888 postings state a pay range. The median is $203,000, and half of them sit between $165,000 and $230,000, across 250 companies.
How much experience do FDE jobs require?
Of 888 postings, 353 state a minimum number of years, from 170 companies. The most common requirement is 3 to 5 years, in 159 of them. The rest ask for 6 to 9 years (134), under 3 years (42) or 10 or more years (18).
Which companies are hiring for FDE jobs?
These 888 postings come from 348 companies. The employers with the most postings are Databricks (59), Booz Allen (33), Palantir (19), Anduril (18) and Google (18).
Are FDE jobs remote?
135 postings allow remote work from the US. Another 232 are hybrid and 213 are on-site. The remaining 308 say nothing about arrangement. Travel is mentioned in 326 of the 888 postings.
Counted over the 888 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