Forward deployed engineer resume keywords

We counted the skills in 300 open forward deployed engineer job postings from 55 employers, including Palantir, Databricks and OpenAI. The ones employers ask for most are Python (45% of postings), product roadmap (39%) and LLMs (32%). 75% of the postings mention AI, though often in the company's description rather than as a skill the job needs.

Top skills and tools in forward deployed engineer postings

#KeywordShare of postings
1Python 45%
2product roadmap 39%
3LLMs 32%
4TypeScript 27%
5prototyping 27%
6supply chain 26%
7JavaScript 25%
8Java 25%
9frontend 24%
10sales 22%
11machine learning 21%
12APIs 18%
13C++ 16%
14backend 14%
15observability 14%
16full stack 13%
17go-to-market 13%
18shipping 13%
19scalability 12%
20data structures 11%
21Apache Spark 10%
22automation 10%
23compliance 10%
24system design 10%
25generative AI 9%
26troubleshooting 9%
27analytics 9%
28distributed systems 8%
29AWS 8%
30customer success 8%

Share of the 300 postings whose description names the skill (plurals and common spellings, such as “JS” and “JavaScript”, count as one).

Soft skills employers mention

ownership · 15%problem solving · 11%creativity · 10%leadership · 9%communication · 6%collaboration · 4%

Show these through results in your bullets (“led a team of six”) rather than listing them as adjectives.

How to use these keywords on your forward deployed engineer resume

  1. Start with the posting, not this list. These are averages across 300 jobs; the one you're applying for has its own priorities. Use this page to spot common gaps, then match the specific posting.
  2. Name skills the way employers do. If you use “Python”, “product roadmap” and “LLMs”, write those exact words. Applicant tracking systems and recruiters search for them, and a close synonym can be missed.
  3. Put each skill in a bullet that shows a result. Naming TypeScript inside a bullet about what you achieved with it, with a number where you can, is stronger than listing it alone in a skills section.
  4. Add only what's true. If you've worked with “TypeScript”, “prototyping” and “supply chain” but your resume doesn't say so, add it. If you haven't, leave it out: interviews expose padded resumes quickly.

How these numbers are calculated

Every figure comes from open forward deployed engineer job postings on MANY Hired, imported from employers' own career pages. For each posting we pick out the skills, tools, certifications and qualifications its description names, then count how many postings ask for each one. A job counts as forward deployed engineer by its title. Updated November 8, 2026.