2026 Enterprise AI Hiring Snapshot (NYC London) Forward-Deployed Engineers: $200K–$250K base Solutions Engineers: $170K–$200K base What actually wins offers right now: → Customer-facing deployment speed → Ownership mindset over pure comp → Tight 2-week interview loops Just placed 3 in the last 30 days. Hiring? Candidate? DM me, I keep shortlists ready.

"Forward Deployed Engineer" is the most over-loaded title in NYC tech right now. Same two words. Wildly different jobs. In New York right now, "FDE" can mean any of these: → A founding engineer at a seed-stage agentic startup, building the product live in front of the first five customers. No playbook, no team, just them and a hedge fund's ops workflow. → An engineer at a Series B fintech-AI company embedded inside a bank, where half the actual job is surviving security review and procurement before a single line of code ships. → An elite IC at a frontier lab's new deployment unit, dropping LLM agents into a Fortune 500 and rebuilding the eval suite every time the model drifts. → A classic enterprise-SaaS deployment role with an LLM layer bolted on and a shinier title to match. All four say "Forward Deployed Engineer" on the JD. They are not the same job. Here's why it matters: For founders, putting "FDE" on a job post tells a strong candidate almost nothing. The best people read the title, shrug, and keep scrolling. You have to describe the actual work: what they'll own, who they'll sit with, how messy the systems really are, and whether the AI is live in production or still a demo. For candidates, never apply to the title. Interrogate the job. Two FDE roles in the same city can be a founding-engineer dream or a glorified integration ticket. The title tells you nothing. The work tells you everything. NYC sharpens all of this. The buyers here are banks, funds, insurers, legal, regulated, demanding, senior. The deployment is harder and the person across the table is more often a C-suite operator than a friendly champion. That raises the bar on what "FDE" has to mean, and widens the gap between the title and the reality. On top of this, the title is fragmenting in real time. Give it 18 months and we'll be hiring FDE-Agent, FDE-Eval and FDE-Infra as separate roles. Until then: stop trusting the title. Read the work. If you're an FDE in NYC weighing up a move, or just trying to work out which of these four jobs a role actually is before you waste a week on it, my DMs are open. I spend all day inside these mandates and I'm happy to give you a straight read, whether or not there's a role in it for you. #ForwardDeployedEngineer #AIhiring #NYCtech

Tired of being one FDE among hundreds, buried under someone else's roadmap? This one's different. I'm hiring 2 Forward Deployed Engineers for a Series A AI company already in production inside firms managing tens of billions in AUM. You'd be the technical lead on the deployment — not one of a pod. Embed 4 days a week inside a hedge fund or asset manager, scope directly with PMs and traders, then build the agentic workflows yourself. Ship daily. Own it from kickoff to production. No ontology backlog. No demo-and-handoff. Real agentic AI — LangChain, tool use, multi-step reasoning, RAG, evals — shipped against live capital. What I need: → 5–12 yrs full-stack / applied AI engineering or true FDE work → 2–3 yrs minimum shipping client-facing production agentic systems end-to-end → Strong Python; can walk me through what you shipped, what broke, how you fixed it → Backbone for high-pressure client rooms where mistakes cost millions → Finance tech a big plus — but the deployment instinct matters more The details: → $200K–$325K base competitive Series A equity → 4 days onsite (Midtown West, NYC) 1 remote — onsite is non-negotiable → No visa sponsorship on this one → Hiring 2 If you've done the big-platform FDE grind and want the ownership without the org chart - DM me or drop a comment. #ForwardDeployedEngineer #FDE #AIhiring

Open call (volume signal the bar) If you're a Forward Deployed Engineer, read this — I want to talk to you this week. I'm currently working a serious volume of FDE and technical-deployment roles across Seed to Series C AI-native companies in San Francisco, New York and London. More live openings for this profile than I've seen at any point — and the supply of genuinely qualified people hasn't moved to match. So I'm going direct. Here's the bar I'm hiring against. If this is you, I want a conversation now, not when you're "ready to look." → 1–5 years in a hybrid technical customer-facing role — FDE, technical AE, GTM engineer, solutions engineer or technical product — on a real engineering foundation. → CS / EE / EECS or equivalent. Proficient in Python and APIs. → You've shipped against AI/LLM products or developer tooling, ideally inside a dev-tool, infra, SaaS or AI company. → You can embed with a customer, run the integration, and translate what you learn back into product direction. → You can hold a room with a staff engineer and a CRO in the same afternoon and lose neither. → Happy to be in front of clients roughly once a month. Who I'm not the right call for: pure GTM/CSM with no technical depth, pure SWE who'd rather never see a customer, or anyone who needs rigid structure to do their best work. If you're in the first group, I've got roles that are genuinely worth your time — the kind with real ownership and equity that means something at this stage. DM me to arrangea quick call - One straight conversation, full picture, no recruiter fluff. #ForwardDeployedEngineer #FDE #AIEngineering #SolutionsEngineering #StartupJobs

Ex-@PalantirTech FDEs (or anyone built in that mould) — if you miss being the tip of the spear, read this and DM me. If you've done the FDE job properly, you know what it actually is. It's getting dropped into a customer's mess with no playbook, no clean spec, and a problem nobody's solved yet — and walking out weeks later with something live, in production, that the customer can't imagine working without. That's the person I'm hiring. A Series A enterprise AI company that needs a Forward Deployed Engineer who treats ambiguity as the job, not the obstacle — embedding with enterprise customers and turning hard deployment problems into shipped, production outcomes. Here's why it'll interest you if you cut your teeth in a deployed role: → Real ownership of the outcome, not a slice of it. You own the customer, the integration, and whether it actually works — end to end. No 14-person account team to hide inside. → You're not employee #800 maintaining a motion someone else built. At Series A, you're early enough to define how deployment works here. The blank page is the upside. → The problems are genuinely hard — enterprise AI/LLM products and developer tooling, real integrations, real APIs, real customers with real stakes. Python and a technical instinct aren't a nice-to-have, they're the entry ticket. → Equity that means something. At this stage, the ownership is real — not a rounding error in a public-company RSU grant. The profile, plainly: → 1–5 years in a hybrid technical customer-facing role — FDE, technical AE, solutions engineer, GTM engineer — on an engineering foundation. → CS / EE / EECS or equivalent. Strong in Python and APIs. → Comfortable embedding with customers, running live demos, and feeding what you learn back into product. → You can hold a room with a staff engineer and a CRO in the same afternoon and lose neither. → On-site with clients roughly once a month. Who it's not for: pure GTM with no technical depth, pure SWE who'd rather never meet a customer, or anyone who needs rigid structure to function. If you came out of a deployed role, you already know none of that survives contact with a real customer. The best FDEs I've placed weren't the most senior people in the room. They were the ones who moved between code, customer and product without dropping signal — and who got bored the moment the problem got easy. If that's you, this is the kind of seat you don't get many shots at. Built in the deployed mould and quietly wondering what's next? DM me "FDE" or take 30 minutes direct: calendly.com/chris-walker-it…. I'll give you the full picture — company, product, the actual hard problems, comp and equity — in one straight conversation. No recruiter fluff, no NDA theatre until it's worth your time. #ForwardDeployedEngineer #FDE #SolutionsEngineering #EnterpriseAI #StartupJobs

Most "Forward Deployed Engineer" CVs I see aren't FDEs. They're Solutions Engineers with a relabelled title, chasing the comp bump. The difference shows up fast. A real FDE has: – shipped into a customer's production environment, not a demo – owned the messy integration nobody scoped properly – sat in front of the customer when it broke, and fixed it – done all of that without an eng team holding their hand The title is everywhere now. The profile is still rare. If you're hiring FDEs and screening on the title, you're screening on the wrong thing. #ForwardDeployedEngineer #FDE #AIEngineering #StartupHiring

Why do people always assume London is the only city on the UK 🇬🇧 with the most rewarding opportunities in Tech. Forget London, here’s a list of top 5 cities with a lot of Tech companies hiring and you don’t have to pay £2,000 in rent. 👇👇

Anthropic is hiring for 6 roles in London and is willing to pay up to £630k A YEAR for each. The AI lab is expanding its London presence and has secured a new office for 800 people. As part of this expansion it has over 40 open roles available in London. Six of these are for different research engineers (e.g. reinforcement learning, scaling etc..) with the salaries reaching up to £630k! This excludes stock options. BONKERS OpenAI, Anthropic, Ineffable Intelligence, Google DeepMind, Recursive... the war for AI talent is HEATING up in London. I wouldn't be surprised if salaries hit over £1m soon.

🚀 Forward Deployed Engineer – NYC (In-Person) Carter Wellington is hiring for a fast-growing Series A startup building the Tesla-like checkout experience for the entire $1.2T vehicle retail industry. 70% client-facing integrations | 30% core product React AI-native required | 1–5 years exp In-person NYC. High-impact startup role. DM or email chris.walker@carterwellington.com with resume. #Hiring #NYCTech #SoftwareEngineer #Startups

🚀 Forward Deployed Engineer – Defense Tech Carter Wellington is recruiting for a a16z-backed Series A startup revolutionizing military logistics with AI software for the U.S. military. $190–235K | Hybrid Seattle/NYC/Hawaii up to 40% travel | Active Secret clearance REQUIRED 70% coding. 30% on-base with customers. Ex-Palantir / Anduril team. DM or email chris.walker@carterwellington.com with resume clearance status. #DefenseTech #Hiring #SoftwareEngineer

Hiring: Forward Deployed Engineer in NYC. 0–3 yrs exp. $150k–$180k. Hybrid. 30–50% travel. Ideal profile: Strong TypeScript Strong SQL Shipped software used by real people Customer-facing or high-agency background Side projects / hackathons / open source / founder energy Comfort with messy data, automation, scraping, workflows This is for someone who wants to be close to customers, product, engineering, and revenue, not just sit behind tickets. DM me or email chris.walker@carterwellington.com. #FDE #ForwardDeployedEngineer #AIJobs #NYCTech #TypeScript

Hiring: Customer Engineer / Agent Builder San Francisco | 5 days in-office $175k–$230k equity This is a hands-on post-sales technical delivery role building and launching AI agents for enterprise customers. Strong fit if you come from FDE, Solutions Engineering, Solutions Architecture, Implementation Engineering, Field Engineering, Technical Consulting, or customer-facing SWE. Need strong Python, APIs, integrations, LLMs, AI agents, workflows, guardrails, or conversational systems experience. Not a pure pre-sales role. Not a pathway into pure SWE. DM me or email chris.walker@carterwellington.com #AIJobs #FDE #CustomerEngineering #AIAgents #Python #SanFranciscoJobs

Hiring: Forward Deployed Engineer SF hybrid | $180k–$250k equity Looking for a hands-on engineer who can own enterprise deployments from demo/PoC through implementation. Strong fit if you’ve worked across FDE, customer engineering, product engineering, solutions engineering, or founder/operator roles. Bonus points for Go, TypeScript, APIs, DevTools, AI-native workflows, coding agents, MCP servers, or autonomous workflow infrastructure. This is not a pure solutions role. It needs someone technical, customer-facing, high-agency, and comfortable operating without a fixed playbook. DM me or email: chris.walker@carterwellington.com #FDE #AIJobs #DevTools #TypeScript #Golang #CustomerEngineering #StartupJobs

FDEs, Applied AI Engineers and customer-facing builders if you’re exploring roles across NYC, SF or London, send me a connection request or message me directly. I’m speaking with AI companies hiring this profile now. #ForwardDeployedEngineer #FDE #AppliedAIEngineer #AIEngineering #AICareers #AIJobs #AISoftwareEngineer #CustomerFacingEngineer #SolutionsEngineering #SolutionsArchitect #AIRecruitment #TechRecruitment #AIHiring #HiringAIEngineers #LLMEngineering #AgenticAI #EnterpriseAI #AIStartups #NYCTech #SFTech #LondonTech

The best Forward Deployed Engineers are not looking for “another engineering role”, they’re looking for the next high-leverage problem to own. If you can sit close to customers, scope ambiguous problems, build fast, integrate messy systems, debug in production, and turn AI products into real business outcomes, there are serious opportunities opening up across the market. I’m currently speaking with AI companies hiring FDEs across high-growth environments where the work is technical, customer-facing, and genuinely close to product impact. The strongest profiles usually have a mix of Python or TypeScript, APIs, integrations, workflow automation, LLM exposure, startup pace, and the confidence to work directly with technical and commercial stakeholders. If you’re a Forward Deployed Engineer considering your next move, contact me at chris.walker@carterwellington.com #FDE #ForwardDeployedEngineer #AIJobs #AIHiring #TechJobs #SoftwareEngineering #SolutionsEngineering #ArtificialIntelligence #Startups

🚨 Forward Deployed Engineer | London | £80k–£150k equity Carter Wellington is hiring for a high-growth AI-native startup building in one of the most operationally complex industries. This is a proper FDE role: Build integrations Ship customer-facing systems Work directly with technical teams and execs Own messy real-world deployments Stay close to product, customers, and commercial impact Stack: TypeScript, Next.js, Node.js, GCP, Postgres, Terraform Location: Holborn, London — 5 days on-site Experience: 2–7 years Visa sponsorship available Best fit: a strong full-stack engineer who likes ownership, speed, ambiguity, and customer-facing work. Not for you if you want a quiet internal engineering role. Interested? DM me or connect. Chris Walker Carter Wellington AI Hiring Partner to Founders #ForwardDeployedEngineer #FDE #AIJobs #LondonTech #TypeScript #FullStackEngineer #StartupJobs #TechHiring

From the Hiring Pro’s POV (What Elite FDE Talent Needs to Know) As the hiring professional who works directly with the top AI labs, here’s the inside view elite Forward Deployed Engineers need right now: • Frontier labs have rebuilt their entire hiring system specifically to attract and close top FDEs fast • Exceptional deployers are actively pursued you will not get lost in black-hole processes • Signal strong deployment experience and you get a direct path to hiring managers • Roles are open and high-priority at the fastest-growing AI companies The system is engineered for speed and impact exactly what the best FDEs want.Forward Deployed Engineers ready for your next big move: Comment “FDE NEXT MOVE” your top deployment skill 👇 DM me your LinkedIn a quick note on your best recent win. I personally review and accelerate strong candidates. Tag a builder who should be in one of these seats. #AIJobs #ForwardDeployedEngineer #AIHiring #TechHiring #TechTalent

Hiring Pro: If You’re a Top Forward Deployed Engineer, This Is Your Moment in 2026As a hiring professional who works directly with frontier AI labs and the fastest-growing AI companies, I see the same story every week: founders are desperate for elite Forward Deployed Engineers. They’ve rebuilt their entire hiring system, MEI doctrine (Merit, Excellence, Intelligence only), specialized talent engineering teams, real-world assessments, and deliberate pacing, specifically to attract and close the best FDEs fast. Why FDEs? Because you’re the ones who turn frontier models into real customer outcomes at lightspeed. You embed directly with users, own end-to-end deployments, get founder-level autonomy, and earn massive equity upside that matches the impact. No endless interview theater. No bureaucracy. Just high-bar environments where exceptional deployers are pursued, not processed. Forward Deployed Engineers actively exploring new opportunities,this post is for you. Comment “FDE READY” your strongest deployment skill (e.g. “real-time inference at scale” or “enterprise AI integration”) below. DM me your LinkedIn a 2-sentence note on your best recent deployment. I personally review every message and fast-track strong candidates straight to hiring managers. Tag one elite AI builder in your network who should be in one of these roles right now. #AIJobs #ForwardDeployedEngineer #AIHiring #TechHiring #TechTalent #FDE

AI Founder: Why We’re Betting Everything on Forward Deployed Engineers in 2026 As a founder scaling a frontier AI company, hiring is still my #1 operational pain point. That’s why we’ve completely rebuilt our process: merit-only (MEI), elite talent engineering teams, and real-problem interviews. The role we’re now aggressively hiring for? Forward Deployed Engineer. If you’re a top AI builder who wants to ship cutting-edge models directly into customer environments, own outcomes end-to-end, and move at lightspeed with founder-level autonomy this is the highest-leverage seat in the company. No bureaucracy. Just impact. Fellow AI founders: if you’re in the same boat, comment “FDE” below. Elite engineers & researchers: comment “FDE READY” your strongest deployment experience 👇 DM me your LinkedIn. I read every message personally and fast-track strong fits. Tag a builder who belongs here. #AIJobs #ForwardDeployedEngineer #AIHiring #TechHiring #TechTalent

The winning AI companies aren’t just hiring, they’re engineering their talent flywheel. Founders who treat recruiting as a strategic product (with dedicated builder talent, codified principles, and AI leverage) turn it from a bottleneck into their biggest unfair advantage. The rest stay stuck in the war. Start with MEI-level clarity and a talent-engineering seed team; the rest compounds from there.

HQ'ed in London, chips built in Bristol. Selling to Anthropic and competing with Nvidia. LETS GO