Rise of the Forward Deployed Engineer
Summary
The article argues that forward-deployed engineering (FDE) is essential to move AI from pilots to production in enterprises. It introduces the Services-as-Software flywheel and the four accelerants (LLMs, agentic AI, vibe coding, and FDE), highlights Palantir’s adoption, and describes the need for governance, ontologies, and continuous monitoring to scale AI in regulated environments. It also outlines a three-layer market and emphasizes that production-focused delivery, not just velocity, drives enterprise AI value and recurring revenue.