What is this?
A free, full-text online book about the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) role in the AI era, written in Chinese by Fan Bing (XDash), author of 'Growth Hacker'. It is readable on the companion site and chapter by chapter on GitHub.
A free, full-text online book about the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) role in the AI era, written in Chinese by Fan Bing (XDash), author of 'Growth Hacker'. It is readable on the companion site and chapter by chapter on GitHub.Is this one book, or a bigger collection of resources?One book of eight chapters plus three appendices. Its companion site fde4.ai also hosts extras beyond the book: a continuously updated case library, an ecosystem map, and a directory.
One book of eight chapters plus three appendices. Its companion site fde4.ai also hosts extras beyond the book: a continuously updated case library, an ecosystem map, and a directory.How do I read it?Three ways: read on the official site fde4.ai (mobile-friendly, kept in sync with the repo), open chapters directly on GitHub via the table of contents, or download the merged PDF (v1.0.24). For updates, the chapter Markdown is authoritative.
Three ways: read on the official site fde4.ai (mobile-friendly, kept in sync with the repo), open chapters directly on GitHub via the table of contents, or download the merged PDF (v1.0.24). For updates, the chapter Markdown is authoritative.Who is this book for?Engineers considering a move into the FDE role, founders building enterprise AI who want to avoid detours, and anyone trying to understand how AI actually delivers value inside companies.
Engineers considering a move into the FDE role, founders building enterprise AI who want to avoid detours, and anyone trying to understand how AI actually delivers value inside companies.What exactly is a Forward Deployed Engineer?An engineer who gets AI models into real customer businesses — a role that grew out of Palantir's intelligence projects. Demand is exploding: postings grew over 7x in a year, with OpenAI, Anthropic and 100+ YC startups hiring, while MIT found 95% of enterprise GenAI projects deliver no measurable value.
An engineer who gets AI models into real customer businesses — a role that grew out of Palantir's intelligence projects. Demand is exploding: postings grew over 7x in a year, with OpenAI, Anthropic and 100+ YC startups hiring, while MIT found 95% of enterprise GenAI projects deliver no measurable value.What does the book actually cover?Three things: what the FDE role is and why it boomed (Ch. 1); how the job is done across a full delivery journey — finding the right problem, winning customers, activating deployments, keeping renewals, expanding revenue, scaling (Ch. 2-7); and who does it, via 165 real cases from Palantir, OpenAI, Anthropic, Harvey and Sierra (Ch. 8).
Three things: what the FDE role is and why it boomed (Ch. 1); how the job is done across a full delivery journey — finding the right problem, winning customers, activating deployments, keeping renewals, expanding revenue, scaling (Ch. 2-7); and who does it, via 165 real cases from Palantir, OpenAI, Anthropic, Harvey and Sierra (Ch. 8).Why did the author make the book free?It began as his own study notes — he argues the best test of understanding a field is explaining it in a book others can read. Since the FDE role is still new in China, he chose to publish openly rather than leave it on his hard drive.
It began as his own study notes — he argues the best test of understanding a field is explaining it in a book others can read. Since the FDE role is still new in China, he chose to publish openly rather than leave it on his hard drive.Are the cases and figures verifiable?Yes — every data point and case cites its source in Appendix C, and the author invites readers to flag any mistakes through GitHub Issues. Appendix B also lists notable FDE people and teams.
Yes — every data point and case cites its source in Appendix C, and the author invites readers to flag any mistakes through GitHub Issues. Appendix B also lists notable FDE people and teams.What are similar projects?opc-methodology, lean-side-bussiness, Startup-CTO-Handbook, nndl, expert_readed_books, Awsome-Front-End-learning-resource, up, the-way-to-go_ZH_CN
opc-methodology, lean-side-bussiness, Startup-CTO-Handbook, nndl, expert_readed_books, Awsome-Front-End-learning-resource, up, the-way-to-go_ZH_CNWhich topics is it in?entrepreneurs, business, ebook, enterprise, career, book, artificial-intelligence, generative-ai, guide, china, learning, education
entrepreneurs, business, ebook, enterprise, career, book, artificial-intelligence, generative-ai, guide, china, learning, education