/market-index — FORWARD DEPLOYED ENGINEERING
Forward Deployed Engineer Salary Guide
Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) sit between engineering and the customer — shipping real solutions on top of a product, in the field. Comp data below comes from live FDE searches we have run for VC-backed startups, not from scraped job posts.
Base salary, $k/year · from 23 live searches
| Market | Searches | Median band | Top of market |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 9 | $150k – $220k | $400k |
| Remote / other | 3 | $150k – $220k | $230k |
| San Francisco | 11 | $140k – $180k | $300k |
What the data says
FDE bands have the widest spread of any engineering family we place. Entry bands start well below product engineering, but senior operators who own major accounts clear $300–400k base — titles are unstandardized, so great FDEs are priced by impact, not by band.
Base salary only, equity excluded. Bands reflect what companies authorized us to offer. Last computed 2026-08.
Live forward deployed engineering roles
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Anonymized profiles of engineers we'd put in front of you — and an honest read on whether your band clears the market.