## Forward Deployed Engineer: AI’s Hottest New Career, or Consulting With a Better Title? The forward deployed engineer: is this the hot new AI career, or has the hype cycle rebranded? ## Introduction In January 2025, Indeed barely registered "forward deployed engineer" (FDE) as a job title. By April 2026, postings for the role were running 5,230% above that level — about 729% higher than a year earlier — and OpenAI had raised more than $4 billion for a company built around it. The earlier signal was already loud. Monthly listings for the role rose more than 800% between January and September…