Job postings for Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) roles surged more than 10-fold on Indeed in 2025, yet few engineers want the position. The role is increasingly seen as closer to sales engineering or solutions consulting than actual software development — FDEs help close deals and deploy customer-specific solutions without contributing back to the core platform. Engineers who took FDE roles report disappointment, with one quitting after just four weeks due to the engagement-lead focus and lack of real software development work. High demand with low supply signals a structural mismatch between what companies advertise and what engineers actually want.
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