FDEs
Forward Deployed Engineers
Senior engineers embedded with your teams to ship fast, then stay on for only the hours you need to support and maintain your software.
How this works
Forward Deployed Engineers
Senior engineers embedded with your teams to ship fast, then stay on for only the hours you need to support and maintain your software.
Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) are one of the most in-demand roles in software today. They sit close to the people with the problem—operations, product, support, or customers—rather than behind a ticket queue. They discover the workflow first-hand, build and integrate websites, mobile apps, and AI features alongside your team, and then stay on to support, maintain, and keep improving what’s live. You get senior, embedded engineering without the cost of a full-time hire—on flexible monthly terms.
- You manage
- Access to the right people, systems, and decisions
- We manage
- Discovery, engineering, deployment, support, and maintenance
- Commitment
- Flexible monthly terms, continuing into low-cost ongoing support
Best for
- Shipping a website or Flutter, React Native, Swift, or Kotlin app with an engineer close to your team
- Rolling out AI agents, automation, or a platform into real business workflows
- Problems that are unclear until someone sits with the people doing the work
- Customer-facing deployments and integrations that need an engineer close to the user
- Low-cost ongoing support and maintenance by someone who knows your systems and your team
How it works
- 01We define the business problem and the teams the engineer will work with
- 02The FDE embeds with those teams to map the workflow and constraints
- 03They build, integrate, and ship in short iterations based on direct feedback
- 04They stay on to support, maintain, and improve what’s live—documenting every change
What an FDE does after launch
Your product, looked after every week.
Websites and apps need care after release. Our Forward Deployed Engineers work alongside your team on low, fixed monthly plans—so issues are understood in context, fixed fast, and turned into lasting improvements.
Monitor and respond
Health checks, alerts, and agreed response times—with updates from first report to root-cause fix.
Low, fixed monthly cost
Predictable plans with no long lock-in—scale up or down any month.
Update and secure
Platform upgrades and store releases handled for you, with security patches first.
- OS and SDK upgrades
- App store releases
- Security patches first
- Dependency updates
Improve continuously
Enhancements prioritised with you from real usage—so the product keeps getting better.
- 01Real usageFeedback and data
- 02PrioritisedAgreed with you
- 03ShippedReviewed and released
We support software we didn’t build, too.
See support and maintenance plansOther ways to hire
The other two options.
Each way of hiring is its own engagement. These are the other two.
FAQs
Questions about FDEs.
What is the difference between staff augmentation and dedicated developers?
With staff augmentation, individual engineers join your existing team and you direct their work. With dedicated developers, Softrious provides a complete team plus delivery management that works exclusively on your product, so you set direction while we run delivery.
What is a Forward Deployed Engineer?
A Forward Deployed Engineer is a senior engineer who works directly with the business teams or customers who have the problem, rather than from a ticket queue. They discover the workflow first-hand, then build and deploy the solution—often combining custom software, integrations, and AI.
Can Forward Deployed Engineers handle support and maintenance?
Yes. Because FDEs work directly with your team and know your systems, they’re well placed to monitor, fix, update, and improve software after launch. See our Support & Maintenance service for what’s covered.
Can we interview engineers before they start?
Yes. You review profiles and interview proposed engineers before any engagement begins, and the team can be adjusted as your needs change.
Can we switch models later?
Yes. Many teams start with a Forward Deployed Engineer or staff augmentation and move to a dedicated team as the product grows. We review fit regularly and recommend changes when they make sense.
With staff augmentation, individual engineers join your existing team and you direct their work. With dedicated developers, Softrious provides a complete team plus delivery management that works exclusively on your product, so you set direction while we run delivery.
A Forward Deployed Engineer is a senior engineer who works directly with the business teams or customers who have the problem, rather than from a ticket queue. They discover the workflow first-hand, then build and deploy the solution—often combining custom software, integrations, and AI.
Yes. Because FDEs work directly with your team and know your systems, they’re well placed to monitor, fix, update, and improve software after launch. See our Support & Maintenance service for what’s covered.
Yes. You review profiles and interview proposed engineers before any engagement begins, and the team can be adjusted as your needs change.
Yes. Many teams start with a Forward Deployed Engineer or staff augmentation and move to a dedicated team as the product grows. We review fit regularly and recommend changes when they make sense.
Let’s talk
Ready to talk about Forward Deployed Engineers?
Share the skills, seniority, and way of working you have in mind. We’ll confirm the fit and introduce engineers.
What happens next
- 1Tell us what you needA few sentences about the product, the problem, or the team you want.
- 2A short intro callWe talk through the work, the timeline, and who should be involved.
- 3A clear plan and proposalScope, team, and cost in writing—so you can decide with confidence.