One of the fastest-growing jobs in Silicon Valley sends engineers straight to customers’ offices to get AI up and running—and pays more than $188,000

Young worker in an office on a laptop (Credit: Carles Navarro Parcerisas)

Forget building AI from a Silicon Valley office. One of tech’s fastest growing jobs is sending workers directly to customers to configure AI tools, integrate software, and solve complex business problems.

Job postings for “forward-deployed” engineers rose more than 1000% between January and August 2026, compared to the same period last year—and more than 4,600% compared to 2023, according to Lightcast data. That far outpaces the broader tech job market, where postings grew 13% year over year.