FDE · Engagement model
Forward Deployed Engineering
Forward deployed engineers (FDE) and strategists (FDS) work inside your team, codebase and systems. The strategist pins down the problem and the result you need. The engineers build it, connect it to your systems and keep it running, starting in week one.
How it works
Engineers and strategists who sit with your team.
- The delivery pod
- One Forward Deployed Strategist and two Forward Deployed Engineers. Testers are shared across pods.
- Inside your systems
- They use your tools, repositories and standups, and follow your security rules.
- Production from week one
- A small working release early on, then regular improvements.
- Matched to your domain
- Mid level and senior people who have shipped live systems in work like yours.
The path
Step by step
1 to 2 weeks, fixed scope
Assess
Which use cases, at what cost, for what return.
2 to 3 weeks
Pilot
You pay only after you accept it.
Rollout
Production
Rolled into your systems, data and teams.
Monthly
Managed operations
Monitoring, answer quality and cost checks.
Pay after acceptance
Try the acceptance step
- Step 1Done
Specification signed
Business discovery and requirements become a signed technical specification. It defines what done means.
- Step 2Done
Output built
We build in capacity blocks with senior review, QA and project management included.
- Step 3Done
You review
You test the output against the specification. Nothing is billed while you review.
- Step 4Locked
Payment locked
The invoice cannot be raised until you accept the output.
Accept the output to release the invoice.
Best for
Is FDE right for you?
- AI agents and automation that must go live
- LLM and document search systems
- Integrations with ERP, CRM and older systems
- Problems that are still being worked out
What you get
- A pod answerable for the result, beyond closing tickets
- Something live in your systems early
- Your own team trained to run it
- A short written report every week
Do FDEs work on site?
Mostly remote. They come on site for workshops and launches, or where your security policy says they must.
Can the pod size change?
Yes. A pod can grow or shrink with the stage of work, on a notice period agreed at the start.
Start a conversation
Tell us what you are trying to build.
Share the problem in a short call. You leave with a clear view of the approach, the team and the cost.
A specialist replies within one working day. The first conversation is free.