Hiring · Global expansion
Hire forward deployed engineers for your next market
Hire engineers in Latin America to work with your international customers and get your product running in their systems.
The role
What is a forward deployed engineer?
A forward deployed engineer (FDE) is a software engineer who works directly with customers to implement a product in their environment. They write the integration code and work with your product team on requirements that come up during deployment.
International rollout
Help customers deploy your product
Customers in a new market may use different systems or need a different workflow. Your FDE works with them to resolve those issues and ship the integration.
Integrate with local systems
Connect your product to a customer's APIs and data sources. Check how they handle authentication and where their setup differs from the customers you already serve.
Take pilots into production
For an AI product, an FDE might build a retrieval pipeline and test its answers against customer data. They debug failures with the customer before rolling it out to users.
Bring recurring needs back to the product team
An integration you build for one customer may help the next. Your FDE and core engineers decide which code to maintain in the product and which to keep customer-specific.
Hiring profile
Look for engineering depth and customer judgment
Ask candidates to work through a customer problem and explain how they would build and maintain the solution.
Production software experience
Ask candidates to explain an integration they shipped, how they handled authentication and data failures, and what happened after launch. Test the stack your customers use.
Clear customer communication
Give candidates an incomplete customer request and see how they clarify it. Ask them to explain the tradeoffs in English, or in the language your customers use.
Customer coverage hours
Agree on the hours customers need support and who handles urgent issues outside them. Check each candidate's schedule against your target markets.
Recruiting with Silver.dev
Hire an FDE through Silver.dev
We recruit engineers in Latin America for US startups. Our engineers screen candidates; you make the hiring decision and manage the person on your team.
Start with your customer environment
Tell us about your customers and what the first deployment involves. Share the stack and any language or on-site requirements.
Agree on the evaluation
Agree with us on what the technical screen should cover. Use a customer implementation scenario in your own interviews to assess how candidates handle unclear requirements.
Choose the engagement model
For direct hiring, you pay when the candidate signs. If you need contractor onboarding or payroll support, ask us about staffing and agency-of-record arrangements.
FAQ
Before you open the search
How is an FDE different from a solutions engineer?
Solutions engineers often help customers evaluate a product before buying it. FDEs tend to write production code and handle implementation after the sale. Companies use these titles differently, so spell out the responsibilities in your job description.
Do forward deployed engineers need to work on-site?
That depends on the customer's access and security requirements. Some deployments work remotely; others require visits. For on-site work, confirm travel and work authorization requirements before hiring.
Can an FDE support global expansion from Latin America?
Yes. An FDE in Latin America can build integrations for international customers remotely. If your customers work in distant time zones, you may need local support or an adjusted schedule.
Does Silver.dev provide a managed deployment team?
We recruit the engineer for your team. Your company manages their work and owns the customer relationship; this is not a managed implementation service.
Next step
Tell us where your product needs to work
Tell us what your customers need to deploy and where they work. We'll discuss the engineer you need to hire.