ADVANCED PROGRAM · 2 MONTHS · HYBRID
FDE Advanced Program: Forward Deployed AI Engineer Course for Experienced Engineers
A 10-week forward deployed AI engineer course for engineers with 2 to 7 years who already code. Evenings and Saturdays, 100 live hours, three projects, a security sign-off and a real 2-week deployment inside a customer's walls.
10 weeks · ~100 live hours · ~120 lab hours
3 weekday evenings + Saturday · hybrid
₹30,000 online · ₹35,000 classroom · batch 15 to 20
Who is this forward deployed AI engineer course for?
The FDE Advanced Program is a forward deployed AI engineer course for working engineers with 2 to 7 years of experience who can already write Python or TypeScript, query SQL, use Git and build REST services. In 10 weeks you add production RAG, evals, agents, MCP, enterprise identity, in-customer deployment and consulting craft, proven in a live 2-week engagement.
Typical participants are backend and full-stack developers, data engineers, DevOps and platform engineers, and solutions or pre-sales engineers who want to move into forward deployed engineer (FDE) roles at AI labs, product companies and IT-services FDE practices. Bloomberry's analysis of 1,000 FDE postings found 60 percent ask for 3 to 5 years of experience, which is exactly this cohort.
If you are a fresher or have under 2 years of experience, start with the 4-month FDE Career Program instead. It builds the foundations this program assumes.
Key takeaways
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10 weeks: 8 teaching weeks plus a 2-week practicum and placement sprint, designed around a full-time job.
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Entry by a 60-minute assessment covering Python or TypeScript, SQL, Git and REST, so the cohort moves fast.
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Three projects and a live forward deployment with a Brolly Group business unit or Digital Brolly SME client, all on the Deccan Finance case.
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Fee ₹30,000 online or ₹35,000 classroom, EMI options available, batch size 15 to 20.
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Certificate: FDE Masters Certified Forward Deployed Engineer – Professional, plus an interview pipeline through our employer council.
How the entry assessment works
01
Book a free demo class
Attend the 60-minute demo, see one real exercise and ask the trainer about your background and target roles. No preparation needed.
02
Take the 60-minute assessment
Online, open-book. Four short tasks: a Python or TypeScript function with tests, a SQL query on a messy table, a Git scenario and a REST API design question.
03
Get a written result within 2 working days
We tell you clearly whether the Advanced Program fits, whether the Career Program is a better route, or what to brush up before the next assessment window.
04
Reserve your seat
Pay the fee or set up EMI, join the cohort channel, and receive the Week 0 setup guide for your laptop, AWS sandbox and Claude and OpenAI API keys.
10-week curriculum: from LLM engineering to deployment inside the customer's walls
Weeks 1 to 8 each have 10 live hours and a lab on Deccan Finance, our persistent NBFC client. Weeks 9 and 10 are the live practicum and placement. The complete syllabus is on the curriculum page.
Week 1
FDE operating model and LLM engineering
How Palantir, OpenAI and Anthropic run FDE engagements. Structured outputs, context management, Claude and OpenAI APIs, cost and latency budgets.
Week 2
Production RAG on messy data
Ingestion pipelines for PDFs, spreadsheets and SQL exports, pgvector, hybrid search, rerankers and permission-aware retrieval. Project 1 starts.
Week 3
Evals as engineering
Golden datasets, LLM-as-judge, RAGAS, promptfoo, Langfuse tracing and CI gates. Evals become the release criterion for everything you ship.
Week 4
Agents and MCP
LangGraph and Claude Agent SDK agents, tool design, human-in-the-loop, guardrails, and building MCP servers for enterprise systems. Project 2.
Week 5
Enterprise integration and identity
SSO with OIDC and SAML, RBAC, ServiceNow and Salesforce sandboxes via MCP, SQL Server and ERP connectors, SQS and Kafka event flows.
Week 6
Deployment inside the customer's walls
Kubernetes, Terraform, private VPC, on-prem constraints and model gateways. Ship Deccan Finance's agent into an environment you do not control.
Week 7
Security, compliance and governance sign-off
OWASP LLM Top 10, prompt injection, PII, DPDP Act 2023, SOC 2, GDPR and HIPAA. Evidence pack reviewed with SOC Masters faculty. Project 3.
Week 8
Consulting craft and value proof
Statement of work, stakeholder alignment, ROI model, executive status notes and a written case study. Demos practised in English and Telugu or Hindi.
Week 9
Live forward-deployment practicum
Embedded with a Brolly Group business unit or a Digital Brolly SME client. You scope and ship something they will use.
Week 10
Demo day, case study and placement
Present to the employer council, publish your case study, complete mock interviews and enter the interview pipeline.
Outcomes: roles and salary bands graduates target
These targets are honest, not promotional. Your current salary, domain and interview performance matter as much as the course. Sources and detail are in our FDE salary in India guide.
Forward deployed engineer at AI-native companies
Sarvam AI, Cartesia and similar teams hire FDEs with 2 to 5 years for Bengaluru and remote roles. Expect ₹25 to 45 L for strong candidates; Cartesia's advertised band is higher.
FDE and applied AI roles at global product firms
Google Cloud Applied AI, Databricks, MongoDB and Coralogix run FDE or forward-deployed solutions teams in India. Bands typically fall in the ₹30 to 45 L range at mid-level.
FDE practice roles at IT services and GCCs
TCS, EPAM, Accenture, Coforge, Turing and Sutherland are building forward-deployed AI units, several in Hyderabad. Bands run ₹20 to 30 L for 3 to 7 year engineers.
Senior AI solutions or applied AI engineer
Many graduates take 'AI solutions engineer' or 'applied AI engineer' titles that do the same customer-facing work. Same skills, same band, often a faster hiring process.
Internal AI delivery lead at your current employer
Some participants stay and lead their company's first production agent rollout. The SOW, ROI and security sign-off skills from Weeks 7 and 8 are what gets you that mandate.
Not sure you will clear the assessment?
Attend the free demo first. The trainer will look at your background and tell you plainly whether to sit the assessment now, prepare for two weeks, or take the Career Program.
Schedule, fees and certificate for working professionals
Detail
FDE Advanced Program
Duration
2 months, 10 weeks (8 teaching + 2 practicum and placement)
Weekly schedule
3 weekday evenings, 2 hours each, plus Saturday 4 hours
Evening slot
[PLACEHOLDER: weekday evening timings] · Saturday [PLACEHOLDER: Saturday timings]
Live and lab hours
~100 live hours, ~120 lab hours (labs are self-paced with trainer office hours)
Mode
Hybrid: classroom near JNTU Metro, Kukatpally, Hyderabad, or live online with the same cohort
Fee
₹30,000 online · ₹35,000 classroom · EMI options available
Batch size
15 to 20 engineers
Next cohort
[PLACEHOLDER: next Advanced cohort start date] · assessment window [PLACEHOLDER: dates]
Practicum
Weeks 9 to 10, roughly 10 to 15 hours a week, scheduled around your job with the host business unit
Certificate
FDE Masters Certified Forward Deployed Engineer – Professional
Placement
Interview pipeline through the employer council; no guarantee language. See placements.
Why experienced engineers are moving into forward deployed roles
60%
of 1,000 FDE job postings ask for 3 to 5 years of experience
Bloomberry, Jan 2026, bloomberry.com/blog/i-analyzed-1000-forward-deployed-engineer-jobs-what-i-learned/
52
organisations hiring FDEs in India, up 130% year on year, Hyderabad in the top 3 cities
CIEL HR via CXOToday, Jul 2026, cxotoday.com/ai/ai-boom-fuels-130-surge-in-demand-for-forward-deployed-engineers-ciel-hr/
₹42.2 L
75th percentile forward deployed engineer pay in India (median ₹17.7 L, 12 submissions)
Levels.fyi, levels.fyi/t/software-engineer/title/forward-deployed-engineer/locations/india
+800%
growth in FDE job postings, January to September 2025
Indeed data via Financial Times
Frequently asked questions
What is the fee for the FDE Advanced Program?
The Advanced Program costs ₹30,000 for live online and ₹35,000 for the hybrid classroom option at our Hyderabad campus near JNTU Metro. EMI options are available. The fee includes 100 live hours, 120 lab hours, three projects, the 2-week live practicum, the security sign-off review with SOC Masters faculty, the Professional certificate and access to the employer interview pipeline.
Who qualifies for the forward deployed AI engineer course?
Engineers with 2 to 7 years of professional experience who can write Python or TypeScript, query SQL, use Git and build or consume REST APIs. You do not need prior LLM or agent experience; Week 1 covers LLM engineering from a production angle. A 60-minute open-book assessment confirms readiness. Data engineers, DevOps engineers and solutions engineers regularly qualify.
Can I do the FDE Advanced Program while working full time?
Yes, it is designed for that. Live sessions run on three weekday evenings for 2 hours each plus 4 hours on Saturday. Labs are self-paced with trainer office hours, and the 2-week practicum is scheduled with the host business unit around your job, usually 10 to 15 hours a week. Expect 20 to 25 hours of total weekly effort.
What salary can I expect after the Advanced Program?
Graduates target ₹20 to 45 L depending on current experience, domain and interview performance. IT-services FDE practices typically offer ₹20 to 30 L for 3 to 7 year engineers, while AI-native and global product companies in Bengaluru and Hyderabad pay ₹25 to 45 L. Levels.fyi's 75th percentile for Indian FDEs is ₹42.2 L. These are targets, not promises.
How is this different from a generative AI or agentic AI course?
GenAI courses teach you to build RAG and agents. This forward deployed AI engineer course teaches you to deploy them inside a customer's environment and get them adopted: evals as release gates, SSO and RBAC, private VPC and on-prem deployment, a security evidence pack, a statement of work and an ROI case. The FDE vs software engineer comparison explains the difference in detail.
Is there a placement guarantee for the Advanced Program?
No. We run an interview pipeline through our employer council, which targets companies such as Turing, Sutherland, EPAM, TCS, Pulsora, Sarvam AI and Cartesia, and we prepare you with mock interviews and a published case study. Hiring decisions belong to employers. We publish cohort outcomes on the placements page: [PLACEHOLDER: Advanced cohort interview and offer statistics].
What happens if I fail the entry assessment?
You get a written result within two working days explaining which of the four areas fell short. Most candidates who miss do so on SQL or REST design and clear a retake after two weeks of focused preparation with the resources we send. If the gap is larger, we recommend the 4-month Career Program, which starts from Python foundations.
Move from building AI demos to deploying them for customers
Book a free demo class, take the assessment and join a cohort of 15 to 20 experienced engineers. The next Advanced cohort starts [PLACEHOLDER: next Advanced cohort start date].