---
answer: direct
beat: tech
source: 1 article · updated: October 24, 2026
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What does a forward-deployed engineer do on an AI project?

The role connects a customer's real workflow to software that can operate reliably in it: learning the domain, integrating systems, building evaluations, and iterating with users toward production quality.

Answered in

Why AI’s Hardest Engineering Often Starts After the Demo

OpenAI’s forward-deployed engineers describe the integration, domain learning, and evaluation work that turns AI prototypes into production workflows.

Crashtech Editorial October 24, 2026 Tech

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