Forward Deployed Engineers Bridge AI Talent Gap for Customer Adoption

Key Quotes

"the fda rolls increased from around 800 to around 1000 60 to 70 of an ai project now depends on adoption not just engineering and and coding but being able to co innovate with customers adaptability is very important leadership becomes very important and the soft skills as well being able to rapidly iterate and deploy it is a career that is definitely worth to go ahead with forward deployed engineer one of the hardest jobs in ai right now with hiring up 800 this year alone and it doesn't look like it's slowing down"

Mo Fagir highlights the significant growth in Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) roles, noting that AI project success hinges on adoption and customer co-innovation, emphasizing the importance of adaptability, leadership, and soft skills. This indicates a shift in the job market where technical execution alone is insufficient.

"the market used to go ahead and value four years of of the skills and universities that used to be the the economic marketing or power signal there itself 22 of the premium was set on a master's degree but the market now is shifting away from that and we already see that in terms of ai being at a much higher premium at in current rates not only that if you look at it overall in terms of software engineering q1 2023 to q1 2025 it already dropped by around 70"

Mo Fagir explains that traditional academic credentials are no longer the primary market signal, with AI skills commanding a higher premium. He contrasts this with the significant decline in traditional software engineering jobs, illustrating a major market transformation.

"why can't customers do the implementation when it comes to ai or tooling themselves in house necessarily now in terms of ai as we know it has boomed significantly and only that the skills if you look at the talent war and itself in terms of ai between all the big organizations there itself there are limited people who understand ai very deeply there itself not only that number two not only do you need the the skill set that a person understands ai very well there as well we need someone who understands all the system architecture as well as all the in terms of of the company there and when i bring those two together that's what leads to to success"

Mo Fagir addresses why companies struggle with in-house AI implementation, citing a scarcity of deep AI expertise combined with the need for understanding system architecture and company specifics. He emphasizes that success requires a combination of these specialized skills.

"the market values like i already noted ai skills much more than than just now i'm looking at rather than looking at the the experience of the person i'm actually looking at the skills that they have and that's what like i noted the market is valuing much more so we take it from that perspective evolution of the engineers rather than just like doing those those mundane tasks being able to do the strategic validation being able to to go ahead and look at an end to end system integration adaptable not just engineering and and coding but being able to like i noted to co innovate with customers"

Mo Fagir asserts that the market now prioritizes skills over experience, particularly in AI. He describes the evolution of engineers from performing mundane tasks to strategic validation, end-to-end system integration, and co-innovation with customers.

"the soft skills of a typical software engineer to what is required as a forward deployed engineer yes they are quite different they're i'm expected to to ship products to to write code and here it becomes quite different where working together co innovating with that customer is absolutely i mean like not in terms of of um ai use cases and the investments in terms of these projects they're significant so in terms of taking these to to success again is is um also very important there as well"

Mo Fagir differentiates the soft skills required for Forward Deployed Engineers from those of typical software engineers, highlighting that FDEs must excel at co-innovating with customers. He notes that the significant investments in AI projects necessitate this collaborative approach for success.

"let's say so we've talked about how the market and how it's rapidly changed like noted from if you take q1 to q1 23 to q1 25 the software engineering jobs drop by 70 white collar by just around 36 if you take the ai the ai the roles 800 000 or 800 to 1000 there so the signal is very very clear in the markets number two what the market values is different skills are much more important so learning again learning by doing and being able to to show that is is absolutely paramount there as well and number three it can yes it can be daunting as in terms of what is the requirements there but don't shy away as we talked about the value the potential and the opportunity is significant"

Mo Fagir summarizes the market shift, emphasizing the clear signal of declining traditional jobs and the rising value of AI skills, particularly through hands-on learning and demonstrable ability. He encourages individuals not to be deterred by the demanding requirements of FDE roles, given the significant opportunities.