Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)
Forward Deployed Engineers sit with a customer, find the problem worth solving and ship an AI solution inside the customer's own systems. It is one of the fastest growing roles at AI companies because it needs both engineering and customer skills. Over four weekends you work a realistic customer case from the first discovery call to a production handover.
- Live cohort, online
- 4 weekends, 8 live classes of 1.5 hours
- Intermediate level
- Certificate you can verify
- Recordings included
What you will be able to do
- Scope a customer problem and turn it into a buildable AI use case
- Build a working prototype with LLMs, APIs and the customer's data
- Evaluate, harden and hand it over to production
- Run discovery calls and demos with technical and business people
Hands on project
Capstone: scope, build, evaluate and demo an AI assistant for a realistic customer case, with a handover document.
Curriculum
8 modules, 24 topics
01Class 1: The FDE role and the customer3 topics
- What FDEs do day to day and how teams hire for it
- The life of a customer engagement, from first call to handover
- Reading a customer's systems, data and constraints
02Class 2: Discovery that finds the real problem3 topics
- Running a discovery call with technical and business people
- Turning pain points into a scoped AI use case
- Writing the one page problem statement and success measure
03Class 3: Building blocks of an AI solution3 topics
- LLM APIs, prompts and structured output
- Retrieval over the customer's documents and data
- Tools, function calling and when an agent fits
04Class 4: Prototype in the customer's environment3 topics
- Working with real data access, permissions and secrets
- Building the first working slice in a day
- Demo design: show value in ten minutes
05Class 5: Evaluation before anyone trusts it3 topics
- Building a test set from real customer examples
- Measuring quality, cost and speed
- Fixing the failures that matter most
06Class 6: Hardening for production3 topics
- Security reviews, data handling and audit logs
- Monitoring, alerts and fallbacks
- Handing over to the customer's engineering team
07Class 7: Communication under pressure3 topics
- Status updates, scope changes and saying no
- Escalations and difficult stakeholder moments
- Writing the handover document
08Class 8: Capstone demo and interview prep3 topics
- Present your capstone to a mock customer panel
- FDE interview formats: case, coding and customer role play
- Feedback and a plan for your next 30 days
Tools you will use
- Python
- LLM APIs (Claude, OpenAI)
- Vector search
- MCP
- Git and GitHub
- Cloud notebooks
Who this course is for
- Software, data and solutions engineers who want a customer facing AI role
- Consultants and technical account managers moving into AI delivery
- Engineers preparing for FDE interviews at AI companies
What to know first
- Comfortable reading and writing Python or JavaScript
- Basic use of APIs and the command line
- No prior AI engineering experience needed
Upcoming schedule
Starts
Live sessions
Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 to 11:30 AM ET
Format
4 weekends, 8 live classes of 1.5 hours
CA$399
A certificate employers can check
Every certificate has a code anyone can verify on getintech.ca. It also shows on your talent profile, so verified employers see it as a proven skill.
Taught live by practitioners who do this work. Meet the instructors.
Jobs that ask for these skills
Real AI and tech jobs in Canada, from verified employers and employers' own careers pages.
Questions about this course
Do I need to be a senior engineer?
No. You need to be comfortable with code and APIs. The course focuses on how to work with a customer and ship, which most engineers have never been taught.
Will this help with FDE interviews?
Yes. The last class covers the common interview formats, and your capstone gives you a real story to tell.
Is the class live or recorded?
Live, on a video call in Eastern time, with time for your questions. Every session is also recorded, and you keep the recordings for 30 days.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. Finish the class and its exercises and you get a Get In Tech certificate with a code employers can check online.
Can my employer pay?
Yes. We invoice companies directly, and for three or more people from one team we can run a private session.
Are prices in Canadian dollars?
Yes. Prices are in CAD before tax. Sales tax is added at checkout based on your billing address.
Can I get a refund?
All sales are final, with no refunds. The one exception: if a PMP or BA cohort does not reach 10 students, you can move to the next cohort or get a full refund.