Amazon Web Services (AWS), Anthropic, OpenAI and Google are expanding programs that send forward-deployed engineers (FDEs) to help customers put artificial intelligence to work, according to TechRadar. The companies are taking a larger role in deployment as customers contend with legacy infrastructure and look for practical uses for AI.
The investment is substantial. The article says OpenAI is backing its FDE business with $4 billion and AWS is spending $1 billion on FDEs. Anthropic plans to train 10,000 specialist engineers by the end of 2027.
Research by Lightcast points to rapid growth in advertised FDE roles in the United States. There were about 200 job ads in 2023 and a similar number in 2024. The figure rose sixfold to about 1,200 in 2025, then reached 7,300 in the first nine months of 2026, another sixfold year-over-year increase, the report found.
Consultancies are also prominent in the hiring. Three of the four companies advertising the most roles were Deloitte, Accenture and KPMG; Google was the only technology company among the four. Anthropic has also announced support for engineering roles at third-party consultancies. Lightcast’s Head of Global Research, Elena Magrini, told CNBC that rising wages suggest companies are competing for a limited pool of talent.
The article suggests that companies’ ability to deploy engineers effectively could become a competitive factor alongside model capabilities.
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