The engineer who ships on the front lines. Embedded with customers, building in production, solving real problems in real-time. Not just writing code — delivering outcomes.
A forward-deployed engineer is a builder who works directly with customers in their environment, not in a distant office writing specs. They're embedded on-site, understanding context, and shipping solutions that actually work.
The term originated at Palantir, where engineers would deploy to customer locations — military bases, intelligence agencies, financial institutions — and build software while sitting next to the people who'd use it.
In 2025, forward-deployed engineering has evolved. You don't always need to be physically on-site. But the principles remain: deep customer immersion, rapid iteration, and shipping outcomes, not features.
Writes code from tickets. Waits for QA. Ships features. Measures lines of code.
Understands users. Builds features. Tracks metrics. Iterates based on data.
Embedded with customers. Solves business problems. Ships outcomes. Owns results.
You don't wait for a 50-page spec. You sit with the customer, watch their workflow, understand their pain, and build the solution while you're there.
Example: Instead of "build a dashboard," you spend a day watching how they manually export CSVs, pivot in Excel, and email screenshots. Then you build exactly what eliminates that workflow.
No "we'll launch in 3 months." You deploy a rough v1 in 48 hours. They use it. You fix it. They give feedback. You improve it. Repeat.
Example: Day 1 = basic data import. Day 2 = add filters. Day 3 = export feature. Day 4 = automated email reports. Week 2 = they can't imagine working without it.
You're not measured by story points or features shipped. You're measured by: Did the customer's problem get solved? Did they achieve their goal?
Example: They asked for a "reporting system." But what they really needed was to stop manually reconciling data. You built a 2-hour sync script instead. Problem solved.
You don't "throw it over the fence" to DevOps, support, or implementation. You own the outcome. If it breaks, you fix it. If they don't understand it, you train them.
Example: You don't just ship the feature. You write the docs, create the training video, and sit with their team during the first week of usage.
Perfect code in 6 months is worthless. Working code today is priceless. You ship fast, gather feedback, and refine in production.
Example: You build the MVP with Next.js + Prisma + Claude Code in a week. It's not "enterprise-grade." But it works, they're using it, and you're iterating based on real usage.
What used to require a team of 5 engineers and 3 months can now be done by one forward-deployed engineer with Claude Code in a week.
You're not writing boilerplate anymore. You're architecting solutions, defining schemas, and letting AI handle implementation. This means you can move 10x faster while embedded with customers.
Real Example:
I embedded with a healthcare client who was manually processing insurance claims in Excel. In one week, using Next.js + Prisma + Claude Code, I built a custom claim processing system with automated validation, approval workflows, and audit logs. What would've taken a team 3 months to spec and build, I shipped — solo — in 5 days. They went from 8 hours of manual work per day to 20 minutes.
Your team has a unique process. SaaS tools force you to adapt to their workflow. You need something built exactly how your business operates.
→ A forward-deployed engineer builds it custom, in production, with your team.
You can't wait 6 months for a dev team to build your MVP. You need something working this week so you can test with real customers.
→ A forward-deployed engineer ships v1 in days, iterates based on customer feedback in real-time. See 1-Week MVP.
You know you have a problem, but you don't know exactly what the solution looks like. Traditional agencies need a 50-page spec. You don't have one.
→ A forward-deployed engineer discovers the solution with you, building and testing hypotheses in production.
You've hired contractors who "delivered the feature" but it didn't solve your problem. You need someone who cares about results.
→ A forward-deployed engineer doesn't leave until your problem is solved. See Concierge Development.
Healthcare, finance, legal, government — your data can't leave your infrastructure. You need someone who understands compliance and can build.
→ A forward-deployed engineer works within your environment, on your infrastructure, ensuring compliance from day one.
Full-stack fluency. Database design, API development, UI implementation, DevOps, security. You can't wait for specialists — you are the specialist.
You understand P&L, CAC, LTV, churn. You're not just building features — you're solving business problems that impact revenue.
You can go from "here's the problem" to "here's a working solution" in 24-48 hours. No six-week sprints. No extensive planning docs.
You genuinely care about solving their problem. You listen more than you talk. You observe workflows before suggesting solutions.
You leverage Claude Code and AI tools to 10x your output. You're an architect and problem-solver, not a code monkey.
You don't say "that's not my job." If it needs to happen for the customer to succeed, you make it happen. Docs, training, support — all of it.
I don't work from tickets. I don't wait for specs. I don't "deliver features."
I embed with your team, understand your business, and ship solutions that actually solve your problems.
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I use the LLM-first tech stack to move 10x faster than traditional development:
This stack lets me go from "here's the problem" to "here's a deployed solution" in days, not months. Learn why this stack wins in 2025 →
I work embedded with your team to solve real problems and ship real solutions. No tickets, no specs, no "we'll deliver in Q3." Just outcomes.
Forward-deployed engineering isn't a job title. It's a mindset. It's caring more about customer outcomes than clean code. It's shipping fast and iterating in production. It's owning the result, not just the implementation.
If that sounds like what you need, let's talk.