Roles at frontier labs · Applied AI
Forward Deployed Engineer
131 open · October 2, 2026
Forward-deployed engineers build with a lab's models inside a customer's business: scoping the problem, integrating the model, evaluating it on the customer's work and handing it over.
- Working with customers 99%
- Production systems 77%
- Python 70%
- How language models work 56%
- Agents and tool use 38%
- Evals and benchmarks 35%
taught here course coming not taught
The numbers
- Open roles now at 22 labs
- 131
- Median base pay middle half $230k to $285k, 26 U.S. bands
- $243k
- State no degree 0% require a PhD outright
- 89%
- Years asked, median of the 87 that state a minimum
- 4
Who is hiring
22 labs are hiring
In the labs' own words
In the labs' own words
“You have experience in Fine Tuning LLMs, tackling advanced RAG or agentic use cases”
“Have deployed systems powered by LLMs or generative models and understand how model behavior, evaluation, and guardrails affect user trust and business outcomes.”
“Learn quickly by embedding in complex, real-world environments”
Your way in
Three doors to this role
- Door 1
Finishing a degree
1% mention publications
The way in is a program: 44 open now
- Door 2
A software engineer
89% state no degree
What to add
- Door 3
A PhD
2% ask for distributed training
Engineering at scale
Asked often
The short answers
How much does a forward deployed engineer at a frontier lab make?
The median U.S. base salary across 26 open forward deployed engineer postings that publish a band is $243k; the middle half runs from $230k to $285k. Equity and bonus are not included.
Do you need a PhD to be a forward deployed engineer?
89% of the 131 open postings state no degree at all, 8% mention a PhD or master's, and 0% require a PhD outright.
What skills do forward deployed engineer postings ask for?
Most often: working with customers (99%), production systems (77%), python (70%), how language models work (56%), agents and tool use (38%).
Which labs are hiring forward deployed engineers?
Right now: Mistral AI (32), OpenAI (24), Cognition (15), Cohere (15), Cursor (Anysphere) (10), Anthropic (6), and 16 more.
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The board
Open roles, newest first
The newest 40 of 131. Each title opens the lab's own posting. By family: applied ai and forward-deployed · fellowships, residencies and internships
- Deployed Engineer ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - ANZ ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - APAC ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - Doha ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - EMEA ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - Europe ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - Japan ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - LATAM ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - LATAM ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer - South Korea ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Deployed Engineer, Federal ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated · $180k to $280k base
- Partner Deployed Engineer ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Partner Deployed Engineer - APAC ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Partner Deployed Engineer - APAC ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Partner Deployed Engineer - Europe ↗
Cognition · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Product Engineer ↗
Cosine · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer - EMEA ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer - India ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Strategist ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Strategist ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Strategist ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Regional Director, Forward Deployed Engineering ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Regional Director, Forward Deployed Engineering - India ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- RVP, Forward Deployed Engineering - EMEA ↗
Cursor (Anysphere) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Greptile · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated · $140k to $220k base
- Staff Forward Deployed Engineer – AI-Native Software Development ↗
JetBrains (Junie, Mellum) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Luma AI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · Bachelor's or equivalent · $168k to $252k base
- Forward Deployed Engineer - Singapore (Korean Speaking) ↗
OpenAI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
OpenHands (formerly All Hands AI) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated · $175k to $240k base
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Replit · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated · $180k to $300k base
- Forward-Deployed Engineer ↗
Vercel (v0) · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Warp · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated · $200k to $250k base
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Anthropic · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Anthropic · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Anthropic · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering ↗
Anthropic · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated · $320k to $405k base
- Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering ↗
Anthropic · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Pre-Sales Program Lead, Forward Deployed Engineering ↗
Anthropic · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated · $270k to $365k base
