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Leadership
FDE Leadership
Take AI from pilot to production. We stand up your forward deployed engineering practice from scratch, turn field work into product, and align product, engineering, sales and customer success around production value. Then we hand it to your team.
Proof
From pilot to production, faster.
66%faster value delivery$180M+qualified pipeline in 6 months1stglobal FDE organization foundedHow it works
A clear path, start to finish.
- AssessTest readiness, ownership and the first use cases.
- Design and launchStand up the practice, the first squads and the AI rapid prototyping process.
- Lead and alignRun the function as your fractional FDE lead and align it across the business.
- Hand over and runA hiring bridge to your permanent FDE leader, with the 1nnovation Engine keeping it performing.
Ways to engage
Choose where to start.
FDE Readiness Diagnostic
3 weeks · fixed feeThe FDE edition of the 1nnovation Index. Is your company ready for an FDE team? A scorecard, go/no-go and 90-day launch plan. Half the fee is credited toward a follow-on engagement. Already have FDEs? We run it as a health check.
Learn more →FDE Build-out
8–12 weeksStand up your FDE practice: mandate, roles, hiring profiles, operating and engagement model, metrics and a 6-month plan.
Fractional FDE Lead
1–2 days / week · retainerWe lead your FDE function and align it across the business while you hire or grow it.
1nnovation Engine
OngoingKeeps your FDE practice performing: field-to-product reviews, reuse library, prototyping process tuning and quarterly value reporting.
Case study
Launching a global FDE organization.
66%faster value delivery$180M+qualified pipeline in 6 monthsForward deployed engineeringGlobal professional services firmLaunching a forward deployed engineering organization
- Challenge
- AI solutions took too long to move from concept to client value, and every region delivered differently.
- Approach
- Founded the first global FDE organization: squads of engineers and AI specialists embedded with clients for AI rapid prototyping and accelerated bespoke builds, under one operating model.
- Impact
- Value delivery timelines cut by 66% and an $180M+ qualified pipeline of repeatable AI solutions in 6 months.
FAQ
Common questions.
What is forward deployed engineering (FDE)?
Forward deployed engineering embeds small squads of engineers, AI specialists and product leads familiar with your business and industry directly inside business problems, so AI solutions move from concept to production faster.
Do you build the production software?
No. We design the AI rapid prototyping process, the FDE operating model and the 1nnovation Engine. The FDE team we design delivers AI rapid prototypes, and your engineers own the production build.
How fast can we stand up an FDE team?
Start with the 3-week FDE Readiness Diagnostic, the FDE edition of the 1nnovation Index. An FDE Build-out then typically runs 8–12 weeks: mandate, roles, hiring profiles, operating and engagement model, metrics and a 6-month launch plan.
How do you turn field work into product?
We install a field-to-product loop: every deployment is reviewed for patterns, and repeatable work is promoted into reusable components and product features, so your FDE practice builds product instead of drifting into low-margin services.
How do you take AI pilots to production?
We find why pilots stall, usually ownership, data, use-case selection or the operating model, then stand up a forward deployed engineering practice with clear ownership, an AI rapid prototyping process, a field-to-product loop and metrics that track production value, not demos.
Start with the business problem.
Book a 30-minute call →
Fractional innovation, product and FDE leadership. From idea to production.
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