Forward Deployed Engineers, Special Compute Zones, How to See Things Differently and Which AI to Use Now

Who is de-orbiting you?

Good morning

Two weeks have passed since my last newsletter, and I caught a cough and ended up with the flu. Just before that I did the AI Agents webinar and another one coming soon (PL only, apologies).

In today's edition, among other things:

• Forward Deployed Engineers

• How to See Things Differently

• Special Compute Zones

• 40 Thoughts on Turning 40

• Which AI to Use Now

• AI and the Office of the CFO in 2025

• How Do Our Brains Make Decisions?

Onwards!

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Forward Deployed Engineers

Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) - unlike traditional developers, these engineers spend much of their time embedded directly in client environments. Their goal is to meet customers requirements “on-site”.

Theys sit with customers and build tailored solutions on-site, creating a tight feedback loop between real-world problems and working code. This role emerged through companies like Palantir and has recently been adopted by high-growth firms like OpenAI and others, significantly influencing how startups and founders think about product-market fit and customer relationships.

It’s something that I see working across different companies right now.

When engineers work directly alongside users, they gain contextual understanding that's impossible to capture in requirements documents. This creates software that actually solves real problems, not imagined or overheard ones. The Forward Deployed Engineer is a hybrid between a technical lead, a “consultant”, and a product manager.

Traditional enterprise software development fails often because it creates distance between builders and users. Forward deployment eliminates this by embedding engineers with customers for 3-4 days per week, where they observe workflows firsthand and build solutions in real-time. Instead of waiting weeks or months for customer feedback, they experience firsthand how their products integrate with existing workflows and legacy systems.

This model is particularly valuable for startups seeking product-market fit and enterprise traction. FDEs gain deeper customer insights than any product manager could relay, and they get solutions built specifically for their environment, not generic products that require extensive customization.

For example, at Palantir, Forward-Deployed Engineers famously worked side-by-side with intelligence analysts and financial traders, tackling complex problems in real time and creating bespoke applications. OpenAI has recently adopted this approach, hiring engineers specifically to help strategic clients effectively integrate AI capabilities directly into their operational processes. OpenAI’s FDEs might spend weeks or months onsite with customers, developing full-stack applications that use OpenAI's advanced AI models to solve practical business challenges.

The FDE role combines elite technical skills with customer immersion in a specific way:

• They write production code across the full stack (React, Python, databases, APIs)

• They work on-site with customers for extended periods

• They translate user needs directly into technical solutions

• They operate with significant autonomy to solve problems

Get engineers as close as possible to the people who use the product to identify critical problems and quickly validate solutions.

Companies organize FDEs in small teams:

• Cross-functional units of 4-5 people deploy to customer sites

• They operate under a "freedom with guardrails" principle

• They maintain connections back to core product teams

• Knowledge flows both ways: field insights shape products, product improvements empower FDEs

For early-stage companies, forward deployment becomes super valuable as an approach:

• Faster product-market fit: Talk to users → write code → repeat

• Shorter sales cycles: "We'll solve your problem right now" beats "buy our software and maybe it'll help"

• Better product direction: On-site presence reveals which features truly matter versus what's merely nice to have

• Competitive differentiation: Solutions tailored to real environments are harder for competitors to displace

Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale:

The big secret was that we didn't actually have a product that worked for the first several years. What we had were brilliant engineers who could quickly build solutions for specific customer problems.

The ideal FDE profile

Finding engineers who excel in this role is hovewer very challenging. They need:

• Technical versatility: Strong coding abilities across the stack

• Customer empathy: Willingness to understand user environments

• Problem-solving focus: Prioritizing outcomes over elegant code

• Adaptability: Comfort with changing requirements and constraints

• Communication skills: Translating between technical and business contexts

Companies that implement forward deployment effectively:

• Rotate teams to prevent burnout from constant travel

• Select flagship customers who value close collaboration

• Create knowledge-sharing systems between field and HQ

• Balance customization with productization to avoid fragmentation

• Hire for both technical and interpersonal strengths

Forward deployment has challenges from both personal and company levels:

• Travel burden can be substantial (up to 50% time on the road)

• Higher costs compared to traditional development models

• Risk of technical debt from quick, customer-specific solutions

• Potential disconnection between field teams and headquarters

What would be an example profile to look for?

• Background: 6 years of software engineering, previously built scalable backend systems at Google.

• Technical Expertise: Proficient in Python, React, PostgreSQL, and AWS.

• Experience: Led multiple onsite customer implementations, quickly learning domain-specific details to build tailored software solutions under tight deadlines.

• Soft Skills: Strong communicator, known for clearly articulating complex technical topics to business stakeholders. Enjoys direct customer engagement, frequently sought out to handle sensitive client situations.

• Approach: Autonomous, takes initiative in ambiguous environments, rapidly iterates, and is always eager to share insights with the broader engineering team.

The FDE role, when executed right, addresses something crucial and scarce for a lot of companies: tangible context. By placing engineers in the trenches - right where users wrestle daily with reality - you can uncover insights that no amount of whiteboarding, market research, or wishful thinking can match.

It’s abstract roadmaps and theoretical product visions vs. forward deployment cutting through the noise, delivering faster, on-site what customers need - and happily pay for…

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How to See Things Differently

When we think about growing smarter, we often picture reading more books or learning new skills, and believe me, I read a lot of books. Growth happens when we change how we see the world. In other words, it’s not just about filling your brain with facts (horizontal growth); it’s about expanding your mind to understand things from a wider perspective (vertical growth).

Two ways of growing: one where you add more information to what you already know, and another where you change the way you think.

Many people follow a common pattern in how they view the world. Early in life, we learn to fit in with the rules and traditions around us. As we grow older, we often become experts in one area or chase success by achieving specific goals. Here’s how that usually breaks down: