Beyond Coding Forward Deployed Engineer: The Role Up 800% (And How to Get It)
Dec 10, 2025
Mo Fagir, a Principal Technical Consultant at ServiceNow with a background in AI and an internship at NASA, discusses the explosive growth of Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) roles amid declining traditional software jobs. He explains why companies struggle with AI adoption and need FDEs for systems integration. Mo outlines the essential technical skills like Python and cloud computing, while emphasizing the importance of attitude over credentials. He encourages juniors to embrace challenges and build portfolios to stand out in this evolving landscape.
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Adoption, Not Capability, Drives FDE Boom
- Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) demand exploded while traditional software roles fell sharply.
- Adoption, not capability, is the main AI bottleneck and drives the FDE surge.
The Unique Skill Blend That Wins AI Projects
- Successful AI deployments need people who combine deep AI understanding with system architecture knowledge.
- That rare blend of skills is precisely what forward deployed engineers provide.
Deliver End-To-End High-Value Use Cases
- Focus on end-to-end delivery: find high-value use cases and take them from POC to production.
- Combine engineering skills with data science and product thinking to scale AI across organizations.