Q&A: A look at forward-deployed engineers, AWS style
Hot AI companies can’t stop talking about forward-deployed engineers (FDEs), which are now very much in vogue. FDEs, in case you haven’t heard, are hired by companies looking (hoping?) to successfully deploy AI tools and services. It’s one of the hotter professions in a world still trying to understand the impact of AI on careers. So, what exactly are FDEs — are they techy lone rangers like the ones OpenAI, Google and Microsoft are hiring? Turns out it’s not so much about individual engineers who swoop in to design and roll out AI deployments; it’s more about a team of engineers working together at customer sites. At least, that’s the view at Amazon Web Services (AWS). In fact, according to Taimur Rashid, managing director of the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, the FDE concept pre-dates the current generative AI (genAI) gold rush. The same kinds of engineering teams were needed for the earlier machine-learning and cloud eras to help companies with deployments. Taimur Rashid, man