Forward Deployed Engineering: secure AI, delivered inside your organization
Most AI initiatives stall between proof-of-concept and production, and security is often the reason. Our Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) are senior AI and security engineers who embed with your team and stay until the system is live, secure and owned by you.
Builders first, security experts always
An FDE isn't a consultant who hands over a slide deck. They write production code alongside your engineers and own outcomes.
AI Threat Modeling
Systematic threat models for LLM apps and agent systems based on OWASP LLM Top 10, MITRE ATLAS and your own risk appetite.
Secure AI Build
Hands-on development of RAG systems, copilots and agent workflows with security by design from day one.
Platform Integration
Deploy and tune Soteria Guard, AgentShield and Govern inside your gateway, identity, SIEM and data platforms.
Red Team & Hardening
Manual and automated adversarial testing, followed by concrete fixes in prompts, policies, code and architecture.
Governance Enablement
Stand up AI policies, risk registers, review boards and evidence collection for internal audit and regulators.
Knowledge Transfer
Pairing, runbooks and training so your team can operate and evolve the system on its own after we leave.
From kickoff to production in as little as 8–12 weeks
Discover
Stakeholder interviews, AI inventory, data flow mapping and threat modeling. Deliverable: risk map & roadmap.
Build
Embedded sprints to build or refactor AI systems, with guardrails and controls integrated as code.
Harden
Red team campaigns, fixes and verification. Deliverable: security sign-off report.
Operate
Go-live support, SOC integration, monitoring playbooks and a structured hand-over.
Flexible ways to work with us
AI Security Sprint
2–3 weeks
- AI attack surface assessment
- Red team of one priority use case
- Prioritized remediation roadmap
- Executive readout
FDE Pod
8–16 weeks
- 2–4 embedded engineers
- Build & secure a production AI system
- Full Soteria platform integration
- Hand-over & enablement
Managed AI Security
Ongoing
- Continuous red teaming
- Policy tuning & threat intel updates
- 24×7 alert triage with your SOC
- Quarterly governance reviews
Frequently asked questions
How is FDE different from traditional consulting?
FDEs write and ship production code inside your environment and are measured by what gets deployed, not by reports. They combine software engineering, ML engineering and security expertise in a single role.
Do we need to buy the Soteria platform to use FDE services?
No. FDE engagements are platform-agnostic. Many customers do adopt Soteria modules during the engagement because it speeds up delivery.
Can FDEs work on-site?
Yes. We offer on-site, remote and hybrid models, and we can work inside restricted or air-gapped environments.
Who owns the code and IP?
You do. Everything built for your organization during an engagement is yours.
Put an FDE team on your AI program
Tell us about your initiative and we'll propose a team and plan within 48 hours.
Talk to an FDE Lead →