India FDE snapshot: 138 open roles tracked, but only 6 entry-level, and the median stated minimum is 5 years
A training provider's Oct 12 count of 138 FDE and related roles at 84 companies in India found just 6 open to engineers with two years or less, with Prodigal, Kyndryl and HighRadius among the employers. Most postings don't state a minimum at all.
NeuraPath Academy, an Indian AI training provider, counted the forward deployed engineer and related roles in its India jobs database on 12 October 2026: 138 open roles at 84 companies, 103 of them carrying the Forward Deployed Engineer title. Only 6 were entry level, against 70 mid-level, 53 senior and 9 leadership roles.
Just 43 of the 138 postings state a minimum experience. Of those, 2 ask for a year or less, 15 for 2–3 years, 13 for 4–6 years and 13 for 7 or more, giving a median of 5 years. The six postings open to people with two years or less included FDE roles at Prodigal (Mumbai), AiStudio, Kyndryl (Gurugram) and HighRadius (Hyderabad), plus Applied AI Engineer roles at Composio and Prodigal in Bengaluru. Client-facing work was the most-mentioned skill across all listings (67), ahead of AI agents (55), AWS (38) and Python (36).
Why it matters: FDE is often pitched as an entry point into AI, but in India the postings mostly want experienced engineers. The practical takeaways are to apply to the many postings that name no minimum, to search Applied AI Engineer titles as well, and to show deployed, client-facing work rather than certificates. Pay data is thin: the one named posting cited, Weekday AI in Bengaluru, printed ₹14–30 LPA without stating the level.
Note that the source sells an FDE course, and the figures cover only the roles it tracks, not the whole market.
Source: neurapath.in