The FDE Coach blog · new articles every day
Practical guides for engineers who ship AI.
Step-by-step builds with free AI tools, what just shipped in AI and why it matters, and Forward Deployed Engineer playbooks on interviews, pay and client work.
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Guides
Deployment Strategist vs Forward Deployed Engineer: Distinct Roles Explained
Deployment Strategist vs Forward Deployed Engineer: a deep-dive into the distinct DNA of these two high-impact technical roles. We break down missions, comp, and career arcs.
11 min read
Guides
Cohere FDE Interview Process: Mastering the LLM Deployment & Coding Rounds
Master the Cohere Forward Deployed Engineer interview process. A tactical guide to the coding round, LLM deployment deep-dive, and system design for builders.
8 min read
Guides
Forward Deployed Engineer Tools: The Essential Tech Stack for Shipping in Chaos
A practical breakdown of the forward deployed engineer tools stack for 2026. From scraping and APIs to LLM agents and infra-as-code, learn what actually ships in high-stakes, chaotic environments.
10 min read
Guides
FDE Technical Interview Prep: Master the Decomposition & Coding Round
A builder's guide to crushing the FDE technical interview. Learn to decompose ambiguous business problems and write practical integration code under pressure.
8 min read
Guides
Forward Deployed Engineer Eligibility: Degrees, Skills, and Backgrounds That Get Hired
Learn exactly what it takes to qualify as a Forward Deployed Engineer. We break down the degrees, hybrid skills, and non-traditional backgrounds that top startups actually hire.
9 min read
Forward Deployed
The Palantir-Style FDE Embed: How to Become Indispensable in 30 Days
A concrete playbook for the first 30 days of a forward-deployed engineer embed. Move from outsider to indispensable operator by building trust, shipping technical wins, and scaling solutions before the customer even asks.
9 min read
Forward Deployed
On-Site vs Remote FDE Work: Travel Realities, Per Diems, and Client Expectations
A concrete engineer-to-engineer breakdown of on-site versus remote FDE work. Covers travel frequency, per-diem economics, client trust dynamics, and the career impact of your location choice.
7 min read
Forward Deployed
The FDE Interview Loop: Concrete Prep Scenarios for Builders Who Ship
Master the FDE interview with this no-fluff guide: real-world debugging scenarios, system design under customer constraints, and the 'builder's mindset' that top-tier firms test for.
9 min read
Forward Deployed
The FDE Portfolio: 5 High-Velocity Prototypes That Prove You Ship in Chaos
Forget toy apps. Forward Deployed Engineers prove value by shipping in chaotic enterprise environments. Here are 5 concrete, high-velocity prototypes that demonstrate the builder-seller DNA required for a $250K+ role.
6 min read
Forward Deployed
The FDE Portfolio: 5 High-Velocity Prototypes That Prove You Can Ship in Chaos
Stop building to-do apps. Real Forward Deployed Engineer portfolios need prototypes that handle dirty data, latency constraints, and ambiguous user intent. Ship these 5 projects.
8 min read
Forward Deployed
The FDE Interview Loop: Concrete Prep Scenarios for Builders Who Ship
Master the Northslope FDE interview process with a tactical breakdown of the systems design, coding, and deployment scenarios used to test builders who ship in chaos. Includes comp data and a concrete prep plan.
9 min read
Forward Deployed
How FDEs Work with Product and Engineering After the Sale Closes
The real FDE playbook starts post-signature. A tactical guide to navigating product gaps, managing engineering bandwidth, and scaling zero-to-one customer workflows without burning internal teams.
8 min read
Forward Deployed
Writing Customer-Facing Technical Docs That Actually Get Read by Users
Stop writing documentation that sits unread. Learn the FDE playbook for creating customer-facing technical docs that reduce support tickets, accelerate onboarding, and directly impact retention.
8 min read
AI News
Why LLMs Can't Break AES: The Cryptographic Wall Transformers Can't Climb
An engineer's deep dive into why large language models fail against AES encryption. We unpack the fundamental mathematical mismatch between stochastic parrots and deterministic bit-flipping, and what it means for security architecture.
8 min read
AI News
Dissecting vLLM: How PagedAttention and Continuous Batching Maximize Throughput
Unpack the engineering behind vLLM's high-throughput LLM serving. We dissect PagedAttention's virtual memory trick and continuous batching's iteration-level scheduler to show why naive static batching is dead.
9 min read
AI News
Rosenbridge: The x86 Hardware Backdoor That Changes How We Trust Silicon
A deep dive into the Rosenbridge hardware backdoor hiding in x86 CPUs: how it works, why it redefines supply-chain security, and what it means for engineers who ship real products.
10 min read
AI News
WeatherNext: DeepMind's AI Cyclone Forecaster and What It Means for Engineers
DeepMind's WeatherNext model achieves state-of-the-art cyclone forecasting. We break down the architecture, why it's a scientific ML milestone, and how engineers can start prototyping with diffusion models today.
9 min read
AI News
GPT‑5.6 Sol & Luna Rollout: What Engineers Need to Know
OpenAI just upgraded GPT‑5.6 Sol and expanded Luna to free users. We break down the performance gains, the free-tier strategy, and how engineers can leverage these models today.
9 min read
Build Guides
Build a Multi-Agent Research Assistant with Gemini Flash Free Tier
Build a planner-searcher-writer multi-agent system that decomposes questions, searches the web via SerpAPI, and synthesizes structured briefs using Gemini 1.5 Flash free tier and LangChain.
10 min read
Build Guides
Build a Viral Twitter/X Thread Generator from Rough Outlines with Groq
A hands-on guide to building a Streamlit web app that uses Groq's free Mixtral model to turn rough outlines into high-engagement Twitter threads with hooks, formatting, and CTAs.
12 min read
Guides
Forward Deployed Engineer vs Full Stack Developer: The Real Difference
Forward Deployed Engineer vs Full Stack Developer: a deep dive into missions, skills, pay, and daily work. Stop guessing which role fits your career goals.
10 min read
Guides
Forward Deployed Engineer Projects: 7 Portfolio Ideas to Land the Role
Stop building generic CRUD apps. Land a Forward Deployed Engineer role with these 7 high-signal portfolio projects that prove you can ship AI prototypes in customer environments.
10 min read
Guides
FDE Interview Prep Guide: Prove You Can Build, Not Just Talk
Master FDE interview prep by shifting from theory to execution. Learn the builder's framework, technical deep-dives, and deployment patterns that top firms test.
10 min read
Guides
AI Engineer Jobs for Graduates: Land Your First Role in 2025
A tactical guide for graduates targeting AI engineer jobs in 2025. Learn the exact skills, portfolio projects, and interview prep needed to break into the field without a PhD.
10 min read
1,162 articles and counting