₹1 cr annual salary package: With AI growth, MNC demand, this job is set to become highest-paid engineer role in India

A Scaler-CMR report says demand for Forward Deployed Engineers in India is expected to grow, with 88% of enterprises anticipating increased need by 2030.

Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) roles are on track to become highest paid engineers in the country, according to a report by AI-native technology education company Scaler and CyberMedia Research (CMR).

The 'India's FDE Opportunity report', surveyed 1,000 software engineers and 200 enterprise technology decisionmakers across eight metros and select Tier II cities to note that 88% of enterprises expect demand for FDE capabilities to grow by 2030, but only 1% of engineers are in explicit FDE roles today.

"FDE is shaping up to be one of the most defining engineering careers of this decade. As companies worldwide race to turn AI into business outcomes, engineers who can bridge the gap between AI technology and its real-world application will be central to making this shift happen," said Amar Srivastava, CEO -- Online Business & Group CPO, Scaler.

What is Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE)?

According to the report, as enterprises build artificial intelligence (AI) into everyday operations, they increasingly need engineers who can sit with the customer, understand what the business needs, and take an AI solution from idea to deployment. That is the work of a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), and it is rapidly becoming one of the most important and coveted roles in India.

-- FDEs help bridge the gap between AI innovation and real-world outcomes, which puts India's engineering workforce in a strong position to lead the AI transition.

-- Nine in ten engineers are not aware of a structured path to upskill for FDE roles, even as 58% say they are looking to transition into one.

-- The capabilities enterprises value most in FDEs are applied AI, taking products into production and working directly with customers. These are also the areas where engineers feel least confident.

-- Coding, once the clearest differentiator, is now just the starting point: enterprises are twice as likely to test candidates on deployment skills as on coding.

-- 61% of enterprises prioritise customer engagement in FDE roles, yet 37% of engineers cite it as their biggest career barrier.

-- 77% of enterprises prioritise production deployment skills, but talent availability stands at just 19%.

-- 51% surveyed enterprises prioritise assessments of production deployment and troubleshooting when evaluating FDE candidates.

-- 80% of engineers in explicit FDE roles report annual incomes ranging from ₹40 lakh to ₹1 crore.

These figures highlight the earning potential associated with FDE capabilities and the opportunity for engineers to build specialised skills for this emerging career, the report added.

Further, the findings point to an emerging opportunity for India: developing a specialised engineering career pathway while addressing gaps in applied AI, production deployment and customer-facing problem-solving.

"For India, this presents an opportunity to build on its existing engineering talent by strengthening applied AI, deployment and customer-facing capabilities. Developing these skills will be key to preparing engineers for emerging FDE roles, enabling them to bridge the gap between technology development and real-world business implementation," feels Prabhu Ram, Vice President - Industry Research Group (IRG), CMR.