# Forward Deployed Engineering with OpenAI

- Date: 2026-09-09
- Added: 2026-09-10
- Who: AI Singapore (AI research and talent-development organisation) · AI Singapore
- Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpGAidoiYIo
- sgai: https://sgai.md/videos/v095/
- License: sgai-authored content (summaries, translations, analysis) is CC BY 4.0 — attribute and link to sgai.md. Verbatim source text (Hansard, speeches, transcripts, policy documents) remains © its original rights holders and is reproduced for reference only. Terms: https://github.com/meltflake/sgai/blob/main/DATA-LICENSE.md

## Why it matters

AI Singapore deconstructs the competency profile of OpenAI's frontier deployment engineers, yet the local market still lacks its own definition for such emerging roles

## Summary

The meetup explores Forward Deployed Engineering as an emerging role, featuring OpenAI speakers discussing what the role entails and necessary skills.

## Full text

© AI Singapore — reproduced for reference only.

[music] >> So if you look at Codex and all the improvements that are shipping every week or every two weeks, a lot of that is driven by what we learn from the ground in terms of how correct is [music] being used and what problems are being solved. And that wouldn't be possible without the work of you know like FDEs [music] and CDs and a lot of roles that are opening eyes that's going out there and engaging with the real world. >> [music] >> The zero to one mindset. This mindset of okay, there's a problem, the problem isn't really defined, I'm just going to figure it out and run with it. And somehow I built the zero to one journey. Somehow I built the first version of a product that simply hasn't existed. So if this is you, if you like these kind of like zero to one journeys, that's actually a great sign for forward deployed engineering.

>> Especially for FDEs, there's also a huge human side of it. Um, so my experience previously in the government really taught me a lot things like you know, empathy for big organizations, um, how enterprises think, you know, the dynamics within an organization and sometimes it's very important to know how to navigate these things. >> [music] >> And ultimately, I think whether a forward deploy engineer gets hired is based on [music] two questions. Will you hire them as engineer or will you hire them to face a client? And unlike a business, a consultant or an engineer, it where one has to be yes, in this case both must be a yes.