PGP in Forward Deployed Engineering & Applied AI Solutions
A 32-week postgraduate program for engineers who want to own AI systems in production. Built and taught by practicing Forward Deployed Engineers — not certifiers.
Curriculum delivered in association with India's top IITs. Selective admission. Limited seats per cohort.
- Duration
- 0 wks
- Active learning
- 0+ hrs
- GenAI tools
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- FDE roles studied
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Financial Times
The new hot job in AI: forward-deployed engineers
Job postings for forward-deployed engineers increased by more than 800% in 2025.
Forbes
The Rise Of The Forward Deployed Engineer
The forward deployed engineer fills that gap, ensuring that AI progresses with customers rather than drifting away from their needs.
Deloitte
FDE Model is Gaining Momentum
The FDE model is rapidly gaining momentum as organisations look to fast-track AI integration and adoption by embedding engineering talent directly with client teams.
Wall Street Journal
AI Startups Have a New Secret Weapon
AI companies are hiring forward-deployed engineers to work directly with customers and tailor AI tools to real-world use cases.
Who is a Forward Deployed Engineer?
An FDE combines building, deploying, and owning AI systems. The role spans software, platforms, and solutions — and exists for a single reason: to make AI work beyond the demo.
End-to-end ownership
Owns AI systems from concept to production — not just the build phase.
Technical + business bridge
Bridges engineering execution with real business outcomes.
Live system stewardship
Deploys, monitors, and improves AI in live environments.
Cross-functional operator
Works across engineering, product, and stakeholder teams.
The intersection
How an FDE actually operates
A continuous loop. Bridging business needs and AI execution — one cycle per problem, repeated until the system is owned end-to-end.
- 01Discover
- 02Define
- 03Design
- 04Build
- 05Deploy
- 06Improve
Understand the business reality
Start by understanding how the business actually operates, not just the stated requirement.
70%
of AI pilots never reach sustained production.
Why it matters
AI doesn't fail in demos. It fails after launch — at integration, deployment, monitoring, and adoption.
Forward Deployed Engineers exist to close that gap. The Academy is built backwards from those failure modes.
Where pilots break
Indicative · industry research, 2024
The first structured pathway to becoming an FDE.
Built and taught by FDEs who deploy AI systems in the real world. Two parallel tracks, one cadence — technical execution and consulting delivery, every week.
Two tracks, one cadence
Track A
Technical
Architecture · evaluation · deployment · monitoring
Track B
Consulting
Discovery · scoping · alignment · delivery
Six ideas that shape the program.
Built backwards from AI failure
Designed using public research on why AI breaks after launch — and training engineers to fix those exact failure modes.
Parallel dual-track
Technical execution and consulting delivery run together every week.
32-week cohort
A long-form immersive program with sustained engagement.
Execution-first learning
MVPs, POCs, and deployment simulations drive learning — not lectures.
Frameworks before tools
Decision models come first; GenAI tools follow.
Living FDE community
Where learning, feedback, and opportunity compound over time.
Designed to make you industry-ready.
32 weeks · 4 phases · two tracks running in parallel
Foundation· Technical track
- /01
Python for production systems
- /02
API integration & microservices
- /03
Database design & deployment
How we actually build FDEs.
Practitioner-designed learning
Curriculum and frameworks shaped by people who have deployed AI in real organisations.
Mentorship from senior practitioners
Guidance, code reviews, and perspective from working FDEs and AI leaders.
Learn → Apply → Build loop
Concepts move immediately into real scenarios and full system builds — the Netpy Lab™ model.
Agile, sprint-based execution
Structured sprints with clear goals, reviews, and iteration — not passive video lectures.
Framework-first, tool-agnostic
Master 10+ proprietary FDE frameworks before applying 30+ GenAI tools in context.
Hiring-grade portfolio output
Deployed systems, case narratives, and architecture walkthroughs built for interviews.
Core concepts. Production patterns. 30+ GenAI tools.
Every tool is taught inside a deployment scenario. No standalone tutorials.
/01
Agentic Orchestration
/02
Advanced Prompting
/03
Vector Search
/04
LLM Operations
/05
Deployment Stack
/06
Safety & Guardrails
Realistic company simulations
Inspired by real production challenges. Names anonymised.
- Stripe-style payments
Payment fraud detection
Real-time ML pipeline with a 100ms latency requirement.
- Salesforce-style CRM
CRM auto-enrichment
Extract company data from web sources and call transcripts.
- Freshworks-style support
Ticket intelligence
Route 100K monthly tickets with multi-language support.
- Postman-style devtools
API documentation generator
Analyse endpoints, generate docs, create test cases.
Production-grade AI systems you'll build during the cohort.
Every system is architected for scale, tested under load, and deployed to production. Hover any card to trace the data flow.Tap any card to trace the data flow.
Research engine
Multi-step research, source validation, citations.
Code assistant
Context-aware completions, PR reviews.
Support automation
Ticket routing, sentiment, 15+ languages.
Webhook infrastructure
10K events/sec with retries, idempotency.
LLM playground
Multi-model testing, cost tracking, versioning.
Production RAG
Citation scoring, hallucination checks, PII filtering.
Multi-tenant SaaS
Data isolation, per-tenant fine-tuning.
Healthcare HIPAA AI
Audit logs, encryption, compliance.
Built and taught by practicing FDEs.
Every module is designed by engineers who ship AI in production. The curriculum reflects how the role is actually practised — not how it's talked about.
Where mentors come from
A typical mentor week
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
Office hours
Code review
Architecture critique
Build sprint
MON
Office hours
TUE
Free
WED
Code review
THU
Free
FRI
Architecture critique
SAT
Build sprint
SUN
Free
Mentor:learner
1 : 6
Hours / week
~6 hrs
Lineup announced 4 weeks before each cohort.
Academic depth, built into the journey.
The program includes learning delivered in association with top IITs — India’s most respected engineering institutions, known for their legacy in technology, research, and applied sciences, and globally recognised for contributions across core engineering, data, and emerging technology domains.
In association with
India’s top IITs
Live sessions by IIT professors
Direct instruction from faculty at India's most respected engineering institutions.
Structured academic curriculum
Twelve weeks of foundational modules anchored in research-led teaching.
Optional campus immersion
An on-campus phase for cohort members who choose it.
Independent certification
Two credentials on graduation: Netpy Academy + the partner IIT.
What FDEs are paid.
Indicative ranges in India (₹ LPA). Hover to see actual band on the scale.
Forward Deployed Engineer
₹45 LPA – ₹1.8 Cr+
Global
$220k – $380k
Senior Forward Deployed Engineer
₹60 LPA – ₹1.5 Cr+
Global
$350k – $600k+
Applied AI Engineer (Production)
₹20 LPA – ₹70 LPA
Global
$180k – $320k
Senior Applied AI Engineer
₹50 LPA – ₹1.2 Cr+
Global
$350k – $550k
AI Solutions / GenAI Architect
₹35 LPA – ₹1.2 Cr+
Global
$250k – $450k+
AI Systems Lead / Staff Engineer
₹80 LPA – ₹2.5 Cr+
Global
$450k – $750k+
Indicative ranges. Actual compensation varies by experience, company, and geography.
A pathway built for hiring, not just learning.
The FDE pathway follows a structured approach aligned with industry demand. We engage with leading companies to stay ahead of evolving hiring needs and prepare learners for real-world AI career opportunities.
The destination
Production AI. Real companies. Real ownership.
Global
Remote opportunities
Work with global AI-first companies from anywhere. Remote FDE roles are growing year-over-year as companies seek deployment-ready engineers.
India
India opportunities
Backed by Netpy's hiring engine — direct connections to India's top AI companies and startups building production AI.
Hiring engine. The full partner list is shared with admitted cohort members during onboarding. Direct introductions are made post-graduation.
A two-day in-person retreat.
Built as an active learning and high-engagement experience for cohort members. A small cohort today, a defining network over time.
Direct working sessions with senior AI practitioners.
Collaborative builds in guided sprints.
Real-world deployment insights, exchanged candidly.
Duration
2 days
Cohort retreat
Build by day. Network by night.
Who should apply.
The program is intentionally selective. Great learning comes from great peers — we choose individuals who raise the standard for themselves and for the room.
Software engineers
2+ years of experience
Data scientists
Moving into production AI
ML engineers
Wanting end-to-end ownership
Technical consultants
Seeking AI specialisation
Admission funnel
Application
Share your background and motivation.
Readiness test
A short evaluation of your technical foundation.
Panel interview
A conversation with the FDE board on goals and fit.
Enrolment
Join the cohort and begin.
Indicative — selection rates vary by cohort.
FDE isn't a role you pick up from a tutorial.
Companies like Palantir, OpenAI, and Anthropic are looking for engineers who can own AI systems end-to-end in production. The role is shaped by what production demands — not by what a course covers.
Early positioning in an emerging role
= asymmetric returns.
Frequently asked.
Become one of India's first Forward Deployed Engineers.
The world is hiring. The Academy is built to prepare you for it. Apply now to talk through fit — no commitment.