Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)
First seen by Alion on Oct 15, 2026.
Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)
About the role
We are hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) who takes a client's problem from the first conversation to a working product in production. You will build both the front end and the back end, use AI tools as a daily part of how you work, and own the outcome rather than a ticket queue.
You will also speak with our client directly: demos, status updates, scoping, and respectful pushback when a request will not serve their goal. You will work as part of a team, on site in our Bangalore office.
As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you stay close to the client's problem and outcome using an AI Native approach.
What you will own
You own the outcome from discovery to post-launch, not a single layer of the stack.
• Discover and scope: turn a vague client need into a clear problem statement, a success metric, and a small first release.
• Design and build: deliver the user interface, APIs, and database for features end to end, choosing the simplest approach that works.
• Ship and run: set up deployment (CI/CD, cloud basics), add monitoring, and fix production issues you or your team introduced.
• Communicate with clients: run demos and status calls, write clear async updates, give honest estimates, and flag risks early.
• Iterate on results: review usage and feedback after launch, and decide what to improve, cut, or leave alone.
• Work with the team: review code, share what works with AI tools, and help teammates unblock their own work.
• Protect quality and trust: write tests, review AI-generated code critically, and handle client data and secrets responsibly.
What "AI-native" means here
AI-native means AI tools are part of how you plan, build, and check your work, and you stay accountable for every line that ships. Familiarity with a tool name is not enough.
• You work with coding agents daily (for example Claude Code, Cursor, or Copilot) and can explain how you steer them: specs, context files, task breakdown, and when you take the keyboard back.
• You review AI output critically. You test it, read it for security and maintainability problems, and reject what does not hold up.
• You verify, not just generate. Tests, logging, and checks come with your work, because speed without confidence is not delivery.
• You know when not to use AI, and you can explain that choice to a client in plain language.What we are looking for Experience level matters less than how you work. We value agile, quick learners who can show real shipped work.
Technical baseline
• Language-agnostic engineering: you pick up new languages and frameworks quickly and choose the right tool for the problem, rather than defending a favorite stack.
• Real strength in a few languages or frameworks (for example JavaScript or TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, or C#), shown in projects that span both the front end and back end.
• Fundamentals that carry across stacks: web basics (HTML, CSS, HTTP), designing and consuming APIs, and data modeling with SQL databases.
• Git, pull requests, and basic CI/CD and cloud deployment.
• A track record of using AI tools in real projects.
How you work
• Communication: clear spoken and written English, comfortable on client calls, and able to explain technical trade-offs to non-technical people.
• Ownership: you follow a problem through to resolution and raise issues before they become surprises.
• Outcome focus: you measure your work by what changed for the user or the client, not by lines of code or tasks closed.
• Product thinking: you ask who the user is, what problem we are solving, and how we will know it worked. You suggest simpler options and say what you would leave out.
• Problem solving: you break down unclear problems, form hypotheses, and debug methodically instead of guessing.
• Agility: you are comfortable with changing requirements, short cycles, and learning new tools quickly.
Nice to have
• Prior client-facing, consulting, or agency experience, especially with North American clients.
• Docker, a major cloud provider (AWS, Azure, or GCP), and infrastructure basics.
• Experience with testing frameworks, observability tools, and performance tuning.
• Awareness of secure coding, privacy expectations, and common client compliance requirements
such as SOC 2.
• Open-source contributions, technical writing, or a deployed side project you can demo.
How we evaluate
We look at what you have built, not only how you interview. Please be ready to share your Git repositories and any deployed work.
1. Application and Git review: send a link to your repositories (GitHub, GitLab, or similar) with a short note on the project you are proudest of. We read your commit history, pull requests, tests, and README, and try the deployed demo if there is one.2. Project walkthrough: a conversation where you explain one project in depth: the problem, your
key decisions, what broke, what you would change, and how you used AI along the way.
3. Practical exercise with AI tools allowed: a short build task where we watch how you plan, direct your tools, and verify the result.
4. Client communication round: a mock client call where you present your work, answer questions, and handle a change in scope.
5. Team and values conversation: how you collaborate, take feedback, and own mistakes.
If your best work is under NDA, tell us. You can describe it in the walkthrough and show a side project in the repository review instead.
Role details
Title : Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)
Employment type : Full-time employee
Location : On site, Bangalore office (not at client sites)
Experience level : Open: we hire for agility and proven work, not
years
Team :Part of a project team, working alongside a
product or account lead
Client contact : Shared: you and the lead both speak with North
American clients
Domain : Generalist, across industries
Working-hours overlap with North America and compensation range are still to be confirmed before this is published.
If any candidates interested for above role, pls drop message on this WhatsApp number
nine three one six one two zero one three two
Skills
Fullstack Developer, HTML/CSS, HTTP, TypeScript, Python, Java, C#, front end, Backend, AI native