# Forward Deployed Engineer Hiring Index

> Free weekly data on forward deployed engineer jobs: 765 open roles by country, metro, seniority, skills and posted pay. CSV and JSON, CC BY 4.0.

Source: https://forwardeployed.work/guides/forward-deployed-engineer-hiring-index
Published 2026-10-06 · Updated 2026-10-07 · ForwarD²eployed editorial

On October 7, 2026, the employer job boards we track listed **765 open forward deployed engineering roles**, on 85 of 86 boards. 55% were in the United States, and the New York City area led the metros with 12%. 33% had a senior, staff, lead or manager title. 32% published a pay range: the median posted base range in US dollars was $160,000 to $230,000 (223 ranges). This is a free, weekly sample of public job boards, not the whole market. See [how it is built](#method), then [download the data](#download).

## Key takeaways

- 765 open roles on 85 of 86 tracked boards, as of October 7, 2026. It is a sample of boards that publicly advertise these roles, not a count of the whole market.
- The United States had 55% of the roles, then the United Kingdom with 9%. The leading metro was the New York City area, with 95 roles.
- By title, 33% of roles are senior, staff, lead or manager level; 60% state no level.
- The most-named skills in the descriptions are Customer-facing work (72%), Python (71%) and Travel expected (53%).
- 32% of roles publish pay. The median posted US-dollar base range is $160,000 to $230,000, from 223 postings. Posted ranges are not what people are paid.
- Of the 482 roles that state a work mode, 26% are remote, 40% are hybrid and 34% are on-site.
- Free to use under CC BY 4.0. Counts only: no employer names, no postings, no links to postings. Cells under 10 postings are never shown.

## The numbers at a glance

Figures for October 7, 2026. A role here is one open posting, so a job advertised in three cities counts three times.

- Open roles: 765
- Boards with a role: 85 of 86
- In the United States: 55%
- Senior level or above: 33%
- Publish a pay range: 32%
- Median posted base range, USD: $160,000 to $230,000
- Median days since posted: 92 days

The largest single board accounts for 16% of the roles and the five largest for 40%, so a few large employers shape the totals. Read the cells below with that in mind.

## Where forward deployed roles are

The United States had 422 roles (55%), ahead of the United Kingdom with 67 (9%). Location is read from each posting's location field, and a role listed in several places is counted in the first. Roles that say only "remote" have no country and appear as not stated.

**Open roles by country**

- United States: 422 (55%)
- United Kingdom: 67 (9%)
- Germany: 28 (4%)
- India: 24 (3%)
- Not stated: 20 (3%)
- Singapore: 18 (2%)
- Japan: 17 (2%)
- Spain: 16 (2%)
- South Korea: 15 (2%)
- Canada: 14 (2%)
- Australia: 13 (2%)
- France: 13 (2%)
- United Arab Emirates: 12 (2%)
- Other countries: 86 (11%)

**Open roles by country**

| Country | Open roles | Share of roles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 422 | 55% |
| United Kingdom | 67 | 9% |
| Germany | 28 | 4% |
| India | 24 | 3% |
| Not stated | 20 | 3% |
| Singapore | 18 | 2% |
| Japan | 17 | 2% |
| Spain | 16 | 2% |
| South Korea | 15 | 2% |
| Canada | 14 | 2% |
| Australia | 13 | 2% |
| France | 13 | 2% |
| United Arab Emirates | 12 | 2% |
| Other countries | 86 | 11% |

### By metro area

The New York City area led the metros with 95 roles. Only metros with at least 10 roles are named; the rest are grouped.

**Open roles by metro area**

- New York City area: 95 (12%)
- San Francisco Bay Area: 81 (11%)
- London: 60 (8%)
- Washington, DC area: 56 (7%)
- Singapore: 18 (2%)
- Tokyo: 16 (2%)
- Berlin: 15 (2%)
- Seoul: 13 (2%)
- Austin: 12 (2%)
- Chicago: 12 (2%)
- Munich: 12 (2%)
- Seattle area: 12 (2%)
- Paris: 11 (1%)
- Madrid: 10 (1%)
- Other places or not stated: 342 (45%)

**Open roles by metro area**

| Metro area | Open roles | Share of roles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| New York City area | 95 | 12% |
| San Francisco Bay Area | 81 | 11% |
| London | 60 | 8% |
| Washington, DC area | 56 | 7% |
| Singapore | 18 | 2% |
| Tokyo | 16 | 2% |
| Berlin | 15 | 2% |
| Seoul | 13 | 2% |
| Austin | 12 | 2% |
| Chicago | 12 | 2% |
| Munich | 12 | 2% |
| Seattle area | 12 | 2% |
| Paris | 11 | 1% |
| Madrid | 10 | 1% |
| Other places or not stated | 342 | 45% |

## Seniority

Level is read from the title alone. "Mid-level" means the title states no level, which is not the same as the job being mid-level: 60% of titles state none. Senior, staff, principal, lead and manager titles together are 33%.

**Open roles by level in the title**

- Intern or co-op: 25 (3%)
- Junior or early career: 26 (3%)
- Mid-level (no level in the title): 459 (60%)
- Senior: 152 (20%)
- Staff or principal: 20 (3%)
- Lead: 23 (3%)
- Manager, director or head: 60 (8%)

**Open roles by level in the title**

| Level in the title | Open roles | Share of roles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Intern or co-op | 25 | 3% |
| Junior or early career | 26 | 3% |
| Mid-level (no level in the title) | 459 | 60% |
| Senior | 152 | 20% |
| Staff or principal | 20 | 3% |
| Lead | 23 | 3% |
| Manager, director or head | 60 | 8% |

## Skills the descriptions name

Each description is checked against a fixed list of 17 terms. A skill counts once per posting, and a mention is not the same as a requirement. Skills named in fewer than 10 postings are not shown.

**Share of roles whose description names the skill**

- Customer-facing work: 549 (72%)
- Python: 546 (71%)
- Travel expected: 406 (53%)
- APIs and integrations: 370 (48%)
- LLMs: 330 (43%)
- Machine learning: 278 (36%)
- TypeScript: 264 (35%)
- JavaScript: 260 (34%)
- Public cloud: 246 (32%)
- Data pipelines: 229 (30%)
- SQL: 172 (23%)
- Security clearance: 130 (17%)

**Roles whose description names each skill**

| Skill | Open roles | Share of roles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Customer-facing work | 549 | 72% |
| Python | 546 | 71% |
| Travel expected | 406 | 53% |
| APIs and integrations | 370 | 48% |
| LLMs | 330 | 43% |
| Machine learning | 278 | 36% |
| TypeScript | 264 | 35% |
| JavaScript | 260 | 34% |
| Public cloud | 246 | 32% |
| Data pipelines | 229 | 30% |
| SQL | 172 | 23% |
| Security clearance | 130 | 17% |
| RAG | 112 | 15% |
| Java | 109 | 14% |
| Kubernetes | 99 | 13% |
| C++ | 94 | 12% |
| Rust | 42 | 6% |

Public cloud means any of the three largest public cloud providers. Product and vendor names are left out of the list on purpose.

## Posted pay

32% of roles (243) publish a pay range. These are the base ranges employers advertise, not what anyone is paid. Each currency is shown on its own: nothing is converted or blended. Where a posting lists several ranges, such as one per location, the span from the lowest minimum to the highest maximum is used. Figures are medians, rounded to the nearest 1,000, and they count each employer once: where one employer posts many ranges in a group, often the same range for every role, those ranges share one vote. A row appears only with at least 5 ranges from at least 3 employers.

**Posted annual base pay by currency**

| Postings | Currency | Pay ranges | Employers | Median posted minimum | Median posted maximum | Middle half of midpoints |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| All postings that publish pay | USD | 223 | 43 | $160,000 | $230,000 | $165,000 to $244,000 |
| All postings that publish pay | GBP | 8 | 6 | £115,000 | £210,000 | £117,000 to £212,000 |

### By level

**Posted annual base pay by level in the title**

| Level in the title | Currency | Pay ranges | Employers | Median posted minimum | Median posted maximum | Middle half of midpoints |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mid-level (no level in the title) | USD | 101 | 38 | $153,000 | $200,000 | $162,000 to $225,000 |
| Senior | USD | 80 | 11 | $175,000 | $246,000 | $180,000 to $230,000 |
| Manager, director or head | USD | 24 | 12 | $240,000 | $300,000 | $240,000 to $328,000 |
| Lead | USD | 7 | 6 | $217,000 | $273,000 | $215,000 to $265,000 |
| Other levels (too few to show) | USD | 11 | 11 | $180,000 | $230,000 | $147,000 to $240,000 |
| Other levels (too few to show) | GBP | 8 | 6 | £115,000 | £210,000 | £117,000 to £212,000 |

### By metro area

**Posted annual base pay by metro area**

| Metro area | Currency | Pay ranges | Employers | Median posted minimum | Median posted maximum | Middle half of midpoints |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| San Francisco Bay Area | USD | 48 | 22 | $171,000 | $250,000 | $170,000 to $259,000 |
| New York City area | USD | 45 | 18 | $182,000 | $250,000 | $175,000 to $261,000 |
| Washington, DC area | USD | 20 | 7 | $179,000 | $248,000 | $166,000 to $249,000 |
| Seattle area | USD | 10 | 3 | $182,000 | $250,000 | $167,000 to $240,000 |
| Los Angeles area | USD | 8 | 5 | $150,000 | $190,000 | $146,000 to $219,000 |
| Other places or not stated | USD | 92 | 20 | $152,000 | $220,000 | $167,000 to $216,000 |
| Other places or not stated | GBP | 8 | 6 | £115,000 | £210,000 | £117,000 to £212,000 |

The middle half of midpoints runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile of each posting's midpoint between its minimum and maximum.

## Work mode and how long roles stay up

A work mode is shown only where the posting states one. 482 roles do. Posted dates are whatever the board shows; a posting that is re-published can look new, and long-running postings can look old.

**Open roles by stated work mode**

| Work mode | Open roles | Share of roles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hybrid | 193 | 25% |
| On-site | 165 | 22% |
| Remote | 124 | 16% |
| Not stated (or too few to show) | 283 | 37% |

**Open roles by time since posted**

| Time since posted | Open roles | Share of dated roles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Up to 30 days | 175 | 23% |
| 31 to 90 days | 203 | 27% |
| 91 to 180 days | 154 | 20% |
| 181 days or more | 233 | 31% |

**Open roles each week**

- October 6, 2026: 779
- October 7, 2026: 765

## Methodology and limitations

This is a sample, built to be checked. Here is exactly what it is and what it is not.

- **A sample of boards, not the market.** We read 86 employer job boards, found by searching the web for companies that publicly advertise forward deployed roles, and kept when they listed at least three such roles on the day the list was drawn up. 86 answered this week and 85 had at least one matching role. The list is fixed between reviews, so companies that start hiring this way later are missing until we add them. So are companies that use another publishing system, advertise nowhere public, or that we have not found, and real totals are higher. The sample is not random. The largest board holds 16% of the roles.
- **Where the data comes from.** Public job-board interfaces that employers use to publish their own openings. We do not log in. Every request carries a header that names this page, we pause between requests, make one pass a week and wait when a provider asks us to slow down.
- **What counts as a forward deployed role.** The title says forward deployed, forward deployment, deployment strategist or FDE; or the title is another engineer, strategist, architect or scientist title and the opening lines of the description call the job forward deployed. Recruiter, sales, marketing, legal and coordinator titles are left out. Our guide on [what a forward deployed engineer is](https://forwardeployed.work/guides/what-is-a-forward-deployed-engineer) explains the role, and the [glossary](https://forwardeployed.work/guides/forward-deployed-glossary) defines the terms.
- **What we keep.** Each posting is reduced to a country, a metro, a work mode, a level, a list of skills, a posted date and, where published, a pay range. Then it is discarded. No employer names, job titles, descriptions or links are stored or published.
- **Small cells are never shown.** No group of fewer than 10 postings, and no pay group of fewer than 5 ranges from 3 employers, is published. Small groups are folded into an "Other" row, which is itself kept above the limit, so every table adds up to the total. This follows the usual practice of [statistical disclosure control](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_disclosure_control).
- **Level, location and skills are rules, not judgement.** Level comes from the title, location from the location field and skills from fixed word lists, so a title that states no level counts as mid-level, a location we cannot place is not guessed and a skill mentioned once counts as named.
- **Pay is posted pay, one vote per employer.** Only annual base ranges are used, and ranges that look hourly, run backwards, span more than four times or mix currencies are dropped. Each currency is reported separately and never converted or blended. Medians count each employer once, so an employer that posts the same range on dozens of roles does not set the figure. Pay-transparency rules in several places explain why many postings in those places show a range; see [pay transparency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_transparency).
- **Weekly, replaced each time.** Every run replaces the data. Earlier weeks are kept only as the total number of open roles.

Found a mistake? Email support@forwardeployed.work and we will correct the page and update its date.

## Download the data

Free to download and reuse under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): share and adapt it, with credit to this page. The files hold the same numbers as this page and are replaced every week.

- [Download the CSV](https://forwardeployed.work/assets/data/forward-deployed-engineer-hiring-index.csv): One tidy table: a row for each group in each table above.
- [Download the JSON](https://forwardeployed.work/assets/data/forward-deployed-engineer-hiring-index.json): The same figures with coverage, pay and weekly history, for code.

**Columns in the CSV**

| Column | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| as_of | The date of the run. |
| table | Which table the row belongs to: countries, metros, work_mode, seniority, skills, posted_age, pay_by_currency, pay_by_seniority, pay_by_metro or history. |
| group | The group: a country, metro, work mode, level, skill, time band, or a date for history. |
| currency | ISO 4217 code, for the pay tables only. |
| roles, share_of_roles | Open roles in the group, and their share of all roles (of dated roles for posted_age; of the skills' roles for skills). |
| pay_ranges, pay_employers | Postings that published pay in the group, and how many employers they come from. |
| median_posted_min, median_posted_max, median_posted_midpoint | Medians of the posted minimum, maximum and midpoint, annual, in the row's currency, rounded to the nearest 1,000. |
| p25_midpoint, p75_midpoint | The 25th and 75th percentiles of the midpoints. |

## Frequently asked questions

### How many forward deployed engineer jobs are there?

In our sample, 765 open forward deployed engineering roles on October 7, 2026, on 85 of 86 employer boards we track. The real number is higher, because the sample covers only boards we found and read. See the [methodology](#method).

### How much does a forward deployed engineer earn?

Among the 223 US-dollar postings that published a base range, the median minimum was $160,000 and the median maximum $230,000. Those are advertised ranges, not what people are paid, and only 32% of roles publish one. See [posted pay](#pay) for levels and metros.

### Where are forward deployed engineer jobs?

The United States has the most (55% of roles), then the United Kingdom (9%). The New York City area is the leading metro, with 95 roles. See [where the roles are](#where).

### What skills do forward deployed engineer job descriptions ask for?

The most-named are Customer-facing work (72%), Python (71%), Travel expected (53%), APIs and integrations (48%) and LLMs (43%). A mention in a description is not always a requirement. See [skills](#skills).

### Is this the whole market?

No. It is a sample of employer job boards that publicly advertise forward deployed roles. It leaves out companies we have not found, companies that do not advertise publicly and roles filled without a posting. Use it for shape and direction, not as a census.

### How often is the data updated, and where does it come from?

Every week. It is read from the public job-board interfaces employers use to publish their openings, then reduced to counts, shares and medians. We publish no employer names, postings or links to postings.

### Can I use and cite this data?

Yes. It is free under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Credit this page: there is a ready-made attribution to copy under [Cite this dataset](#cite).

### How is a forward deployed engineer different from other engineering roles?

A forward deployed engineer works with customers to deploy and adapt a product on their own systems and data. Our guides explain [the role](https://forwardeployed.work/guides/what-is-a-forward-deployed-engineer), [how to interview for it](https://forwardeployed.work/guides/forward-deployed-engineer-interview-guide) and [how the model compares with consulting](https://forwardeployed.work/guides/forward-deployed-vs-consulting).

### Do I have to hire a forward deployed engineer?

Not always. For knowledge work, your own people can be the forward deployed: see [a third way: your own people](https://forwardeployed.work/guides/what-is-a-forward-deployed-engineer#third-way).

## Sources and further reading

- [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Creative Commons.
- [Dataset (schema.org type)](https://schema.org/Dataset). Schema.org.
- [Pay transparency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_transparency). Wikipedia.
- [Statistical disclosure control](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_disclosure_control). Wikipedia.
- [ISO 4217 currency codes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217). Wikipedia.
- [RFC 9309: Robots Exclusion Protocol](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9309). Internet Engineering Task Force.

## Cite this dataset

ForwarD²eployed editorial. “Forward Deployed Engineer Hiring Index” ForwarD²eployed, October 7, 2026. https://forwardeployed.work/guides/forward-deployed-engineer-hiring-index