Learn the FDE job.Then crack the interview.
Forward deployed engineers build AI inside real companies. Learn the job in the order a client project runs, then practise the coding rounds that get you hired.
Free to start · no card · runs on your laptop
What’s inside
- Models & context
- Retrieval
- Agents & tools
- Multi-agent & integration
- Evals
- Security & risk review
- Data & governance
- Deployment & ops
- Systems & unit cost
- Discovery & handover
- Arrays
- Strings
- Binary Search
- Recursion
- Linked List
- Stacks & Queues
- Binary Trees & BST
- Priority Queues
- Dynamic Programming
- Graphs
How it fits together
One path, six stages.
Every stage runs the same way: learn the lessons, practise on a lab graded here, then apply it in a week with your client, Halden. After Stage 6 you specialise and prep the interview. Stage 1 with its lab, Halden week 1, DSA patterns and the practice problems are free.
The spine
Your FDE path
6 stages · 35 lessons · stage 1 free
- Stage 1 · FreeThe first two weeks on site
- 6 lessons
- A lab, graded here
- Halden week 1 free; weeks 2, 3 and 5 in Pro
- A checkpoint drill (Pro)
- Stage 2 · ProOne trustworthy model call
- 3 lessons
- Stage 3 · ProAnswers from their data
- 4 lessons
- Stage 4 · ProAgents that act safely
- 7 lessons
- A lab, graded here
- Stage 5 · ProProve it and pass review
- 7 lessons
- A lab, graded here
- Halden weeks 4 and 6
- A checkpoint drill
- Stage 6 · ProShip, run and hand over
- 8 lessons
- A lab, graded here
- Halden weeks 7, 8, 9 and 10
Inside the stages
Not separate courses: each one is a step of the stages it belongs to, and has its own page too.
Practise · stages 1, 4, 5 and 6
Labs
- A client's messy data
- Write the fix in the browser
- Graded here, by the kit's own scorer
12 labs · Stage 1's lab freeOpenApply · stages 1, 5 and 6
Your client: Halden
- One client for ten weeks: the residency
- Something changes every Monday
- Graded on your own machine
10 weeks · week 1 freeOpenCheckpoint · after stages 1 and 5
Interview drills
- 45-minute design rounds
- Curveballs on the clock
- Score yourself on a rubric
9 drills · in ProOpen
After the path
Aim at one kind of role, and get ready for the coding and design rounds.
How it fits
A week on FDE Coach.
Learn a lesson, use it on a client’s data, then practise the rounds that test it. At your own pace, in one place.
Mon: Learn
Read a lesson
Then build its exercise.
Tue: Build
Use it on client data
The lab kit runs offline.
Wed: Practise
Solve two problems
Tests run in the browser.
Thu: Drill
Take a design round
45 minutes on the clock.
Fri: Prove
Grade the week
Halden's grader checks it.
Inside FDE Coach
Not a video course.
It’s the forward deployed engineer job, and the interview that gets you there, in one place.
Lessons follow the order a client project runs. Every one is set at a client: a bank, a freight firm or a health insurer. DSA patterns and their practice problems sit right next to it.
Start at any level and go at your own pace. Your progress saves as you go.
@ FDE Coach
Contents
- 01Lessons109 lessons · read, then build
- 02Set up your machine (lab kit)Client data · runs offline
- 03DSA patterns56 patterns · 1,194 problems to practise
- 04Interview drills9 rounds · on a clock
- 05Your client: Halden10 weeks · graded
Plus 9 specialisations and the FDE job board
Beyond the path
Everything else on FDE Coach.
FDE jobs
See who’s hiring.
889 open forward deployed roles from company career sites. Filter by place and level, then apply on the company’s own page.
FAQ
Questions people ask before starting.
Where should I start?
With the FDE path. If an interview is coming up, open DSA patterns next to it: learn each pattern, then practise it on the problem set.
Do I need to know AI already?
No. You need to be comfortable writing code, and the exercises use Python. The AI part starts small, with one model call, and builds from there.
Is it free?
Free to start, with no card: Stage 1 of the FDE path in full with its lab, week 1 with your client, Halden, the tutor on every lesson's opening, DSA patterns and every practice problem. Pro opens the other five stages, every other lab and Halden week on your record, the specialisations and role projects, every drill in the playground, the Lab Assistant and the solutions. The pricing page shows what it costs where you live.
Do I need API keys?
No. The exercises and the lab kit (set up your machine once) run on your laptop, with no keys and no token bill.
How long does the FDE path take?
About 60 hours of reading and hands-on work. At 5 hours a week, that's about 12 weeks.
Is this only interview prep?
No. DSA patterns, their practice problems and the drills get you through the rounds. The path, with its labs and your weeks with Halden, and the role projects teach the job itself.
6 stages / one path
Start with lesson one.
Answer three questions, get a plan for your week, then open the first lesson. Free, no card.