Kanav Bhatnagar, 24, worked at Amazon as a software engineer, but eventually «wanted to work on a smaller team» to make more product decisions. He shared the skills needed to land one of the most sought-after positions in the AI industry.
Kanav Bhatnagar, 24, worked at Amazon as a software engineer, but eventually «wanted to work on a smaller team» to make more product decisions. He shared the skills needed to land one of the most sought-after positions in the AI industry.
«After 2.5 years at Amazon, I interviewed at a sales startup called Actively AI, where I landed the position of Forward Deployment Engineer (FDE),» Kanav Bhatnagar told Business Insider.
He says the position was popularized by Palantir and has been called «the hottest job in AI.» He said he worked at Actively AI for about six months before joining Rippling (an AI-focused HR technology company) as an FDE in October 2025.
«I have been in this role for about a year now. Simply put, I am an engineer who directly interacts with customers and tailors our product to their needs. They describe their problems and needs, and I develop appropriate solutions and customizations,» Bhatnagar explained.
He explained that a software engineer can create something that works for most use cases, but AI tools typically require more customization to work properly than regular software functions. That’s where FDE comes in.
«For example, a restaurant chain might have a time-consuming payroll tracking process that involves spreadsheets and manual data entry, and I help them eliminate that with the Rippling platform, using custom code and artificial intelligence,» the programmer said.
Bhatnagar believes that becoming an FDE without a technical background will be quite difficult, although not impossible. However, with the advent of the concept of vibecoding, it may become easier.
«In my experience, FDE interviews include technical stages that test your coding skills, just like traditional software engineer interviews. You also need to demonstrate that you can communicate with any customer, including people without a technical background, by asking the right questions to understand the customer’s problem and discuss how you would develop a solution,» the IT professional advised.
He suggests that the required technical knowledge should be «broader than deeper,» and that the candidate should be familiar with what’s happening in the world of AI and what new AI tools they can use in their workflow, communicating with colleagues and conducting research online.
