Zero to FDE / AI Engineering for Working Professionals: Become a Forward Deployed Engineer
AI Engineering for Working Professionals: Become a Forward Deployed Engineer
If you already work in software, data or a technical customer role, you have the half of the Forward Deployed Engineer job that takes years to build. Zero to FDE adds the other half: building, evaluating and deploying AI systems.
Why your experience is an advantage
In a Bloomberry analysis of 1,000 FDE job posts, 60% of postings asked for 3 to 5 years of experience and 20% for 6 to 8 years; only about 12% were open to people with under 2 years. Among 100 current FDEs, 45% came from software engineering, 22% from solutions engineering, 15% from data roles and 10% from technical consulting. FDE hiring mostly draws on people who already have engineering experience, and then asks them for AI skills on top.
What you would add
| Weeks | You build |
|---|---|
| 2 to 3 | LLM APIs, tool calling, then retrieval (RAG) from first principles: a document Q&A tool that cites its sources |
| 4 to 7 | Agents by hand, then LangGraph, your own MCP server, and a multi-agent system |
| 8 to 9 | An eval suite that catches regressions, tracing, cost tracking and guardrails |
| 10 to 12 | A system live at a public URL, a three-project portfolio, and interview preparation |
Week 1 covers engineering basics (backend Python, Git, the command line, FastAPI, SQL). If you already do this at work, skim it and move on.
Built to fit around a job
- Self-paced. No live classes, no fixed batch dates. Start any day.
- Short steps you can read or listen to, so a commute counts, and code that runs in the browser for the hands-on parts.
- An honest time estimate. The 12 core weeks add up to about 167 hours of reading and practice by our own lesson estimates: about 14 hours a week to finish in 90 days, or about six months at an hour a day. Skipping what you already know shortens it.
- A daily streak and a Today card that always show your next task, so a 30-minute evening still moves you forward.
Who it fits, and who it does not
Fits: backend, full-stack and QA engineers, data analysts and data engineers, solutions, support and sales engineers, and IT services engineers who want to move into AI work. You need basic Python.
Not a fit: if you want a certificate or live mentoring (there is neither), or if you already ship production LLM systems with evals and tracing, since you will know most of it.
Price
One payment, lifetime access, with a full refund within 7 days. Try Week 1 free first, no card needed.
Frequently asked questions
I work full time. How long will this take?
The 12 core weeks are about 167 hours of reading and practice by our own estimates. At about 14 hours a week you finish in 90 days; at an hour a day, in about six months. Skim the parts you already know from work.
I am already a software engineer. Is this too basic?
Week 1 covers engineering basics you may already know; skim it. From Week 2 the course is about LLMs, retrieval, agents, evaluation and deployment, which is the part most engineers have not built yet.
Will this get me a job or a raise?
No course can promise that, and this one does not. It teaches the skills FDE and applied AI roles ask for and leaves you with three shipped systems you can show.
Zero to FDE is a 90-day roadmap that takes AIML graduates to Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) roles: twelve core weeks plus an optional four-week enterprise track, with one real deliverable every week.
Start Week 1 free