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06 / Discipline - Specialist Search

Forward Deployed Engineering

Engineers who sit between your product and your customers - common in AI-native and enterprise SaaS deployments.

What We Place

The roles we run, by level.

  • Senior Forward Deployed Engineers
  • Principal Forward Deployed Engineers
  • Solutions & Customer Engineers
  • Implementation & Integration Leads
  • Customer-facing technical leadership
  • Across AI-native and enterprise SaaS deployments

Where The Talent Sits

The pools we actually source from.

  • Palantir, Scale AI, Anthropic FDE alumni
  • Solutions engineering teams at modern data/AI platforms
  • Enterprise SaaS implementation leads
  • Hybrid backgrounds: software engineering + customer-facing chops
  • Founding deployment hires from AI-native scale-ups

Geographies

Sydney, New York City, London. Remote-Australia or remote-EU common at senior IC.

Comp Bands (2026)

Senior FDE: $220k - $340k base + variable. Principal FDE: $300k - $440k base + variable. Heads of Customer Engineering: $380k+ base + executive package.

Median Brief - Signed

21 days. 90% of mandates close from the first shortlist.

How We Run The Search

Four steps. Twenty-one days.

01

Brief

90 minute working session. Scorecard signed off before any outreach.

02

Search

Direct outreach across APAC, EMEA and US. 200-400 named engineers per mandate.

03

Shortlist

3-5 calibrated candidates, each with a one-page technical memo.

04

Close

Pre-closed comp, counter-offer coaching, replacement guarantee.

Recent Forward Deployed Searches

Indicative of where we run.

Indicative samples drawn from recent and active mandates. Specific clients available under NDA on request.

Further reading

Related insights.

Founder Notes

What CTOs Are Optimising for in 2026

Founder Notes

The Shift from Growth-at-All-Costs to Efficient Teams

Hiring Process

How 72-Hour Shortlists Are Built

Submit a brief

Run a structured Forward Deployed search.

30 minute working session. No fee until placement. Replacement inside 90 days.

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