As leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to boost workplace productivity becomes a top priority for companies, a role known as Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is rapidly emerging. Even as software developer hiring continues to decline, FDE recruitment has jumped roughly eight-fold in Korea and abroad over the past year. With companies such as Naver Cloud and Krafton adopting FDEs, and specialized FDE service providers gaining prominence, the FDE model is beginning to take root in Korea.
On-Site at Client Companies to Solve Problems… BCG Rebrands Engineers as FDEs
According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 1st, global consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) last month renamed the staff within its in-house engineering and design organization BCGX to Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs). Previous data scientists are now called Forward Deployed AI Scientists, and AI engineers are called Forward Deployed AI Engineers. An FDE refers to an engineer who is stationed on-site at a client company to identify operational problems and provide solutions to resolve them.
"BCGX personnel have originally worked alongside consultants at client sites in a collaborative manner," a BCG official said. "This name change aims to respond more proactively to the increased demand for AX (AI Transformation)."
Palantir Pioneered the Role… Demand Explodes as AI Adoption Becomes Critical
BCG's case aligns with the broader trend in the global tech industry, where FDEs are gaining prominence. The origins of the FDE role trace back to Palantir's initiatives more than 20 years ago. At the time, Palantir chose to dispatch engineers directly to client sites to serve intelligence agency clients where security was paramount.
Once seen as applicable only to special circumstances, the role came back into the spotlight last year as AI companies including OpenAI, Anthropic and Cohere expanded FDE hiring to embed their models into corporate operations. At the same time, productivity gains through AI emerged as a major agenda across all industries, sending FDE demand soaring. According to U.S. job platform Indeed, FDE hiring surged 800% between January and September last year. This stands in stark contrast to the fact that software developer job postings on Indeed hit a five-year low as of February last year.
Expanding in Korea… Naver Cloud Launches Task Force, Krafton Focuses on Recruiting
Meaningful changes are also emerging in Korea this year. Naver Cloud launched an FDE task force (TF) last month and is searching for FDE talent both internally and externally. Its main goal is to support AX for external client companies. Krafton has been recruiting internal FDEs since late March to strengthen the execution of its 'AI First' initiative, one of its key priorities. The plan is to deploy FDEs across each department to identify problems that can be solved with AI and to actually resolve them. Despite being a highly experimental contract position, the program has attracted triple-digit applicants in recent weeks.
FDE job postings on Korean HR tech firm Wanted Lab numbered just one last year but have risen to eight as of April this year. While the absolute numbers remain small, the industry views actual demand as far greater. In Korea, the presence of system integration (SI) companies that resemble FDEs is also helping increase acceptance of the FDE model. However, FDEs differ from SI in that they are involved in the entire process — from problem definition to solution deployment and management — rather than simply building the solutions companies need.
"Around the second half of last year, vibe coding reached a level useful even for developers, laying the groundwork for smoothly providing FDE services," said Hwang Hyun-tae, CEO of enterprise AX startup Space Wi. "The effort and time required to deliver solutions optimized to a client's situation has decreased compared to before." Indeed, Space Wi has carried out AI adoption projects for major companies including Notion, Kiwoom Securities, Samyang and CJ with just about five FDEs.
Keys to Successful AX via FDEs… "Building Organizational Consensus for Sustained Push Comes First"
However, the work of an FDE is not easy. In addition to engineering and coding skills, FDEs must also be able to communicate with clients at the business level. They must also overcome internal resistance that can arise when applying new solutions at client companies.
Some point out that for FDEs to deliver results in the field, it is fundamentally important how well companies have laid the cultural groundwork for AX. "AX is possible only when work is centered around AI and when people learn how to work with AI, so companies need to make change management efforts," said Kim Sung-bong, BCGX Partner FDE. "Leadership that can continuously drive AX and building consensus within the organization are critical conditions." Hwang also advised, "For companies to make good use of FDEs, they need to communicate what problems exist in their operations rather than handing over predefined solution specifications. Internal facilitators who help FDEs with in-house communication are also necessary."
