How much do forward deployed engineers travel? What postings say, and what to ask

By FDE Interview Prep, a SourceStrongAI company

In this post12 sections

1. The short answer
2. What postings state, company by company
3. What our count of postings shows
4. What a travel percentage means in days
5. Weeks away or day trips: how travel is spread
6. What FDEs and leaders describe
7. Questions to ask before you accept
8. How to answer the travel question in a recruiter screen
9. Where to go next
10. Questions people ask
11. Keep reading
12. More from the blog

The posting says “Travel up to 50% is required”, and you are trying to work out whether that means a flight a month or living out of a hotel. ^{[1, 2, 3]}Source 1Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SFPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 3Forward Deployed Engineer - London (Spanish-speaking)PublisherOpenAISource typecompany job posting The line alone can’t tell you, and the person who knows is the hiring manager, not the job board. Where the role itself is new to you, start with our guide to what a forward deployed engineer is; this post covers only the travel.

The short answer

Forward deployed engineer travel runs from one customer trip every 4-8 weeks to most of the year, and it changes by team and city inside a single employer. ^{[4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]}Source 4Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (New York City)PublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 5AI Engineer – Forward Deployed Engineering (AI FDE)PublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 6Sr. Deployment Strategist, FDE - Financial ServicesPublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 7Forward Deployed Engineer, Air Defense (FDE)PublisherAnduril IndustriesSource typecompany job postingSource 8Forward Deployed Software Engineer, New Grad - Commercial (New York, NY)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job postingSource 9Forward Deployed Software Engineer, New Grad - US Government (Washington, D.C.)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job posting As of September 2026, Palantir’s Vilnius FDSE posting asks for the ability to travel 10-20% of the time, while its London NATO posting asks for travel throughout Europe 70-90% of the time. ^{[10, 11, 12]}Source 10Forward Deployed Software Engineer (Vilnius, Lithuania)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job postingSource 11Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NATO (London)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job postingSource 12Forward Deployed Software Engineer - UK Government (London)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job posting At AI labs, OpenAI’s FDE postings for San Francisco, New York City and London say “Travel up to 50% is required.” ^{[1, 2, 3]}Source 1Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SFPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 3Forward Deployed Engineer - London (Spanish-speaking)PublisherOpenAISource typecompany job posting Databricks’ Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer postings list travel to customers 20% of the time. ^{[4, 5, 6]}Source 4Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (New York City)PublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 5AI Engineer – Forward Deployed Engineering (AI FDE)PublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 6Sr. Deployment Strategist, FDE - Financial ServicesPublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job posting

So the useful answer is not an average. It is the travel line on the posting in front of you, turned into days, plus three answers from the team: how the travel is spread, who decides, and how much notice you get. The rest of this post gives you each of those.

What postings state, company by company

The tables below quote or closely paraphrase the travel line on FDE postings, read in the same month. Each row names the posting, because the same employer often says different things for different teams.

AI labs and AI product companies

Enterprise software, data, consulting and defense

Three things stand out once you read the lines side by side.

The verb changes the deal. OpenAI uses “is required” for its San Francisco, New York City and London FDE postings but “may be required” for its Legal and Financial Services postings in New York. ^{[1, 2, 3, 13, 14]}Source 1Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SFPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 3Forward Deployed Engineer - London (Spanish-speaking)PublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 13Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Legal-NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 14Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Financial Services- NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job posting Palantir’s New York posting adds “flexible based on personal preferences”. ^[28]Source 28Palantir Technologies - Forward Deployed Software Engineer (New York, NY)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job posting Those are three different commitments: the two OpenAI lines share a 50% figure, and only the verb differs. ^{[1, 2, 3, 13, 14]}Source 1Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SFPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 3Forward Deployed Engineer - London (Spanish-speaking)PublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 13Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Legal-NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 14Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Financial Services- NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job posting

Remote is where you live, not whether you fly. Glean’s Founding FDE posting is remote and requires 25–50% travel, and ElevenLabs’ remote North America posting says to expect regular travel for customer onsites. ^{[23, 25, 26]}Source 23Founding Forward Deployed EngineerPublisherGleanSource typecompany job postingSource 25Forward Deployed Engineer - Software Engineer - North AmericaPublisherElevenLabsSource typecompany job postingSource 26Forward Deployed Engineer - Systems (Stockholm)PublisherModalSource typecompany job posting Our post on what “remote” means in an FDE posting goes further on this.

The heaviest postings here ask for a clearance. Palantir’s NATO posting (70-90%) and Anduril’s Air Defense posting (up to 80% of the year) both ask for a clearance or the ability or eligibility to obtain one. ^{[11, 30]}Source 11Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NATO (London)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job postingSource 30Forward Deployed Engineer, Air Defense (FDE)PublisherAnduril Industries (Greenhouse job board)Source typecompany job posting If you are looking at that kind of role, read our post on FDE jobs that need a security clearance too.

What our count of postings shows

A table of chosen examples can’t tell you how many postings mention travel at all, so we counted. In our September 2026 count of public postings on the 103 job boards we checked, 512 of 806 FDE postings mentioned travel somewhere in the description, and 388 stated a percentage. ^[31]Source 31Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data In our count, 489 of the 806 had a travel sentence that reads as a requirement. ^[31]Source 31Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data

Where a posting stated a percentage, our count recorded the highest figure it gave. In our September 2026 count of public postings, of those 388 postings, the highest figure was 1-25% in 204, 26-50% in 141, 51-75% in 41 and 76-100% in 2. ^[31]Source 31Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data

How to read those numbers:

• The unit is a posting, not a job. Our count reads requisitions: 15 postings repeat another posting’s employer, title and locations under a different requisition and are counted separately. ^[31]Source 31Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data The boards our count could reach also leave out large consultancies such as Accenture and Deloitte. ^[31]Source 31Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data The methodology page explains how the count was run.
• “Highest stated” is a ceiling. Scale AI’s Public Sector FDSE posting says 25%, up to 50% as necessary, so in our count a posting like it falls in the 26-50% group, not the lower one. ^{[27, 31]}Source 27Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Public SectorPublisherScale AISource typecompany job postingSource 31Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data
• No percentage is not light travel. ElevenLabs’ North America posting, listed as Remote, gives no percentage but says to “expect regular travel for customer onsites”. ^{[25, 26]}Source 25Forward Deployed Engineer - Software Engineer - North AmericaPublisherElevenLabsSource typecompany job postingSource 26Forward Deployed Engineer - Systems (Stockholm)PublisherModalSource typecompany job posting In our September 2026 count of public postings, all 38 ElevenLabs postings mentioned travel. ^[31]Source 31Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data

Other analyses exist, and they use other data. In an analysis of 1,000 FDE postings supplied by Revealera, published November 2025 and updated January 2026, Bloomberry reported that 68% of the roles call for travel. ^[32]Source 32What I learned analyzing 1K forward deployed engineer jobsPublisherBloomberry (Henley Wing Chiu)Source typeindependent analysis That is a different set of postings, read by a different method, so treat it as its own finding and don’t set it beside ours.

What a travel percentage means in days

No posting in the tables says whether its percentage counts working days, calendar days or nights away. Until the team tells you, assume working days, and count travel days as away. Here is the arithmetic on a month of twenty working days. It is our arithmetic, not a market figure.

A stint turns a share into a season. Anduril’s Air Defense posting asks for travel to remote regions for up to two months at a time, up to 80% of the year. ^[7]Source 7Forward Deployed Engineer, Air Defense (FDE)PublisherAnduril IndustriesSource typecompany job posting Up to 80% of a 52-week year is 41.6 weeks away ^[7]Source 7Forward Deployed Engineer, Air Defense (FDE)PublisherAnduril IndustriesSource typecompany job posting, which leaves about ten weeks at home. In two-month stints, that is roughly five stints a year, with home time squeezed in between them.

A common mistake is to convert the share and stop. The same days away, spent in one city an hour’s drive from home or spread across three time zones, are the same percentage and very different months.

Weeks away or day trips: how travel is spread

The same share can come in at least five shapes, and postings and published accounts hint at which one you are signing up for.

• A rhythm. Databricks’ AI FDE postings ask for willingness to travel once every 4-8 weeks to see customers, as needed. ^{[4, 5, 6]}Source 4Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (New York City)PublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 5AI Engineer – Forward Deployed Engineering (AI FDE)PublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 6Sr. Deployment Strategist, FDE - Financial ServicesPublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job posting That is a calendar pattern, not a share of your year.
• A stint. Anduril’s posting sets stints of up to two months. ^[7]Source 7Forward Deployed Engineer, Air Defense (FDE)PublisherAnduril IndustriesSource typecompany job posting Long stints matter more than the total if you have fixed weekly commitments at home.
• A phase. The Pragmatic Engineer reported, in August 2025, that according to OpenAI’s Head of FDE, OpenAI FDE projects start with early scoping that includes a couple of days on site, and end with a delivery phase at the customer’s site, described as a few days per week. ^[33]Source 33What are Forward Deployed Engineers, and why are they so in demand? (Gergely Orosz)PublisherThe Pragmatic EngineerSource typenews report Travel shaped like that is light at the start and heavy near go-live.
• Local. OpenAI’s Tokyo FDE posting expects travel mainly within Japan, and its Tokyo FDE manager posting says travel up to 40%, mainly local. ^{[17, 18]}Source 17Forward Deployed Engineer - TokyoPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 18Manager, Forward Deployed Engineer - TokyoPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job posting Local travel at a high share can still mean sleeping at home.
• Regional. Palantir’s NATO posting is based in London and travels throughout Europe. ^{[11, 12]}Source 11Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NATO (London)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job postingSource 12Forward Deployed Software Engineer - UK Government (London)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job posting Your base city and your customers’ cities are different questions.

Here is a quick scenario to test yourself. Two postings both say 40%. On the first, you drive to one customer across town every Tuesday and Wednesday: eight of twenty working days. On the second, you fly to another continent for eight working days in a row each month: also eight of twenty. The first costs you commute time; the second costs you a weekend or two, jet lag and sleep. The percentage hides that difference, so ask for the shape.

What FDEs and leaders describe

Postings say what an employer asks for. A few leaders and FDEs have described what the time looks like in practice. Each is one account, from one date, about one company.

• OpenAI, from its FDE lead. The Engineering Leadership newsletter reported, in August 2026, that OpenAI generally tells new FDE joiners to expect around 50% of their time on customer sites. ^[34]Source 34Inside OpenAI's Forward Deployed Engineer RolePublisherEngineering Leadership (Gregor Ojstersek)Source typenews report Engineering Leadership also reported that Colin Jarvis, who leads forward deployed engineering at OpenAI, said this varies by project, with some people in the UAE and Japan on site around 80% of the time. ^{[34, 35]}Source 34Inside OpenAI's Forward Deployed Engineer RolePublisherEngineering Leadership (Gregor Ojstersek)Source typenews reportSource 35The Future of Forward Deployed Engineering | OpenAI, Ramp, Nominal, DatalandPublisherSouth Park Commons (YouTube)Source typerecorded talk or interview
• Palantir and Commure, as reported. The Pragmatic Engineer reported, in August 2025, that Palantir expects around 25% of FDEs’ time to be spent on site with customers and that Commure estimates up to 50%. ^[33]Source 33What are Forward Deployed Engineers, and why are they so in demand? (Gergely Orosz)PublisherThe Pragmatic EngineerSource typenews report
• Palantir, a decade ago. In an October 2024 essay about his eight years at Palantir, Nabeel S. Qureshi wrote that when he joined, in 2015, the norm was for FDEs to “‘go onsite’ to the customer’s offices and work from there 3-4 days per week, which meant a ton of travel.” ^[36]Source 36Reflections on PalantirPublisherNabeel S. Qureshi (Substack)Source typecandidate’s personal write-up He describes the company as it was then, not now.
• Palantir, from Blind. In a February 2023 Blind thread, a Palantir-tagged user who described themselves as a new-grad FDE wrote that travel depends on the team: some teams travel every other week, some are centralized in one place, and others have occasional on-site visits. ^[37]Source 37palantir forward deployed software engineerPublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind Another Palantir-tagged user on Blind replied that they travel about once every 4-6 weeks and that “it’s pretty optional”. ^[37]Source 37palantir forward deployed software engineerPublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind Two posters, one thread, one year.

Notice what none of these give you: a measure of stated travel against travel actually done across a team. We found no source that has one. Use these accounts to shape your questions, and for what sustained travel costs people, see our post on whether the FDE job is stressful.

Questions to ask before you accept

Some employers raise travel before any call. Palantir’s US Government FDSE application form asks whether you support the travel percentage on the posting, and whether you support frequent business travel to Europe or the IndoPacific. ^[38]Source 38Apply: Forward Deployed Software Engineer - US Government (Washington, D.C.) - Palantir on LeverPublisherPalantir Technologies (Lever)Source typecompany job posting Answer those with the same number you will give a person.

Ask the rest before the offer, while you can still ask to be considered for a team closer to your number. Three questions do most of the work:

If the answers stay vague, ask to speak with an engineer on the team, and ask for the travel expectation in writing with the offer.

How to answer the travel question in a recruiter screen

You may be asked some version of “Are you comfortable with the travel?” on the application form or in the first call. The weak answer is “I’m flexible.” It can get you through the call, and a mismatch can surface in your first engagement, when fixing it is hardest.

A strong answer has three parts: your number, your limit, and one question back. Write yours before the call. Here is the shape:

“The posting says up to half-time travel. I can do up to two weeks on site a month, in stretches of up to a week, and longer around a go-live with a month’s notice. What wouldn’t work is being away most weekends for months at a stretch. How is travel spread on this team right now?”

Fill it in with your own numbers, and keep the reason short: you don’t owe anyone the details of your family or health.

Three mistakes to avoid:

1. Answering in percentages. “I’m fine with the posted percentage” means nothing to you until you convert it. Speak in weeks a month and the longest stint.
2. Giving conditions without a commitment. A list of what you can’t do, with nothing you can, gives the recruiter nothing to staff against.
3. Leaving “flexible” on the record. If you said it early, give your real number in the next round, before an offer is on the table.

The free question How much travel can you commit to? has a model answer to compare yours against. If you have worked on site before, prepare the question about working inside a customer’s environment as well, since your story is the evidence behind your number.

Where to go next

Do three things before your next application: read the posting’s travel line word for word, convert it with the table above, and write your one-breath answer. The free lesson Travel, location and on-site time breaks any travel line into four parts (the verb, the unit, the ceiling and the destination), with a checklist you fill in for your own posting. The next lesson, how to read an FDE job posting line by line, turns that into one field on a posting page you keep for every role. Both sit in The FDE role, decoded, a free module.

Questions people ask

How much do forward deployed engineers travel?

It depends on the employer, the team and the location. As of September 2026, OpenAI’s FDE postings for San Francisco, New York City and London say travel up to 50% is required, Databricks’ Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer postings list travel to customers 20% of the time, and Palantir’s NATO role in London asks for travel throughout Europe 70-90% of the time.^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12]}Source 1Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SFPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 3Forward Deployed Engineer - London (Spanish-speaking)PublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 4Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (New York City)PublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 5AI Engineer – Forward Deployed Engineering (AI FDE)PublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 6Sr. Deployment Strategist, FDE - Financial ServicesPublisherDatabricksSource typecompany job postingSource 11Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NATO (London)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job postingSource 12Forward Deployed Software Engineer - UK Government (London)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job posting

Do all FDE jobs require travel? What did our count find?

No. In our September 2026 count of public postings, 512 of 806 FDE postings mentioned travel somewhere in the description, and 388 stated a percentage. Some make it a condition of the job, as OpenAI’s San Francisco, New York City and London FDE postings do with “Travel up to 50% is required.” Read each posting’s travel line.^{[1, 2, 3, 31]}Source 1Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SFPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 2Forward Deployed Software Engineer - NYCPublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 3Forward Deployed Engineer - London (Spanish-speaking)PublisherOpenAISource typecompany job postingSource 31Our analysis: FDE posting censusPublisherfdeinterviewprep.com researchSource typeour analysis of public data

Can you negotiate travel in an FDE job?

Sometimes. As of September 2026, Palantir’s New York FDSE posting describes its travel of up to 25% as flexible based on personal preferences, and Palantir’s US Government FDSE application asks whether you support the advertised travel percentage. Raise it before the offer, not after.^{[28, 38]}Source 28Palantir Technologies - Forward Deployed Software Engineer (New York, NY)PublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany job postingSource 38Apply: Forward Deployed Software Engineer - US Government (Washington, D.C.) - Palantir on LeverPublisherPalantir Technologies (Lever)Source typecompany job posting

Keep reading

Guides

• What is a forward deployed engineer?

Lessons

• Travel, location and on-site time: read the posting, then ask
• How to read an FDE job posting line by line
• What forward deployed engineers do

Questions

• This role involves travel to customer sites. What can you commit to, and what would make it unworkable?
• Tell me about a time you worked inside a customer’s environment rather than your own. What was hardest?

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