Roles at frontier labs · Applied AI
Forward Deployed Engineer
134 recorded postings · Partial update · October 8, 2026
Recorded postings, not a live vacancy count. Partial update: some sources retain earlier observations; each listing has its own check date.
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 78%
- Python 70%
- How language models work 58%
- Agents and tool use 39%
- Evals and benchmarks 37%
taught here course coming not taught
The numbers
- Recorded postings at 23 labs
- 134
- Median base pay middle half $239k to $285k, 23 U.S. bands
- $243k
- No degree requirement stated 0% require a PhD outright
- 90%
- Years asked, median of the 94 that state a minimum
- 4
The recorded snapshot
Postings from 23 labs
In the labs' own words
In the labs' own words
“Hands-on experience building agents, LLM orchestration, context engineering, evals, and RAG systems”
“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: 32 recorded in the snapshot
- Door 2
A software engineer
90% have no degree requirement stated
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 23 recorded forward deployed engineer postings that publish a band is $243k; the middle half runs from $239k to $285k. Equity and bonus are not included.
Do you need a PhD to be a forward deployed engineer?
90% of the 134 recorded postings do not state a degree requirement, 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 (78%), python (70%), how language models work (58%), agents and tool use (39%).
Which labs posted forward deployed engineer roles in this recorded board?
Recorded board: Mistral AI (34), OpenAI (26), Cognition (15), Cohere (12), Cursor (Anysphere) (10), Anthropic (6), and 17 more.
Prepare for it here
A free account opens the courses and saves your progress.
Create your free accountNewsletter
One lesson by email each week.
One lesson a week. Free, and it stays free.
The board
Recorded postings, newest first
The newest 40 of 134. Each title opens the lab's own posting. By family: applied ai and forward-deployed · fellowships, residencies and internships
- Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Lovable · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineering Lead ↗
Lovable · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Creative [UK, French Speaking] ↗
Luma AI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer - London ↗
OpenAI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer - Munich ↗
OpenAI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer - Paris ↗
OpenAI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- Forward Deployed Engineer - Zurich ↗
OpenAI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
- 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
- Member of Deployed Staff, Forward Deployed Engineer ↗
Factory · 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 ↗
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 ↗
Anthropic · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated
