Help Wanted: ‘Forward-Deployed’ Humans for the A.I. Era
Start-ups are using the military-derived term to glorify customer-facing work as clients seek people to help set up artificial intelligence tools.
TL;DR
- The job title 'forward-deployed engineer' is experiencing a significant increase in usage.
- This rise is attributed to the growing need for employees to assist clients in setting up and integrating new artificial intelligence tools.
- LinkedIn saw a twelvefold increase in job listings for forward-deployed engineers, with new related titles also emerging.
- Indeed reported a 730 percent jump in listings for forward-deployed engineers over the past year.
- These roles are considered relatively secure as AI struggles to replace hands-on client support.
- The appeal of the title, popularized by Palantir, is partly due to its strong, militaristic sound, making it seem 'cool'.