42 companies · facts checked October 11, 2026
Find forward deployed engineering companies near you
Compare forward deployed engineering companies that embed senior engineers in your business to build AI agents, data platforms and integrations. Search by what you need and where your team is.
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Dplyz
Senior AI engineers who work inside your company. Dplyz connects your data, builds the product and runs AI agents and workflows in production, as an embedded team, a defined project or technical leadership.
- Senior AI engineers
- Embedded in your team
- Agents, data and integrations
- Project or ongoing
42 forward deployed engineering companies
Each of these forward deployed engineering companies puts engineers inside its customers' businesses. The list shows who each one fits and how you buy it. "Quote" means it doesn't publish a price.
Facts checked October 11, 2026 on each company's own site, job postings or filings. Read every company profile.
Choosing a forward deployed partner
Most forward deployed engineering companies sell a mix of people and process, so ask these before you sign.
The deal
- Do you keep the code, or is it tied to a platform?
- Who sits with your team, and how often?
- Is it billed by time, scope, story points or usage?
- What happens when the engagement ends?
The work
- Which models and tools will they build on?
- How do they test agents before production?
- Will they work in your repos and release process?
- Who owns support after launch?
Forward deployed teams at the biggest names
How Palantir, Google, OpenAI and others run their own forward deployed engineering, with the pay each one posts.
Guides for companies and engineers
Palantir competitors
Platforms that overlap Foundry, AIP and Gotham, with published prices.
Compare platforms
Top AI consulting firms
AI investments, model partnerships and forward deployed teams at each firm.
See the firms
What a forward deployed engineer does
The job at Palantir, OpenAI and Anthropic, and where it came from.
Read the guide
Forward deployed engineer salary
Pay ranges from official postings, for engineers weighing the role.
See posted pay
FDE vs software engineer
How the companies that hire both split the jobs.
Compare the roles
How we pick
Where every fact comes from and how a company gets listed.
Our methodQuestions
Common questions
What is forward deployed engineering?
Forward deployed engineering means software engineers working inside a customer's business, building and shipping what that customer needs instead of features for every customer at once. Palantir says it pioneered the role. AI labs, data platforms and consultancies now hire for it. See what a forward deployed engineer does.
How is forward deployed engineering different from consulting?
Palantir draws the line this way: a consultant usually hands over a one-time analysis or recommendation, while a forward deployed engineer builds a lasting solution with the customer and does far more engineering. Many consultancies on this page now run forward deployed teams too.
How much does a forward deployed engineering team cost?
Almost none of these firms publish rates, so expect a quote. A few publish how they bill: Tenex charges per story point delivered, Databricks bills its FDEs on customer projects, and Toptal lists a $79 monthly platform fee with talent rates on top.
Which companies invented the forward deployed engineer role?
Palantir. Its current job posting calls its version "The Original Forward Deployed Software Engineer", and a 2019 Palantir blog post names it one of the company's two largest engineering roles.
Sources
- Palantir FDSE job posting
- Palantir: Dev versus Delta (2019)
- Accenture: Microsoft Forward Deployed Engineering Practice (2026)
- IBM: Forward Deployed Units (May 2026)
- OpenAI: Frontier Alliance partners (Feb 2026)
- Tenex: AI engineering
- Toptal pricing
- Dplyz: ways to work with us
Checked October 11, 2026. Prices, programs and job postings change, so confirm on each page.