> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://adjacent.media/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Forward-Deployed Engineers Face Conflict-of-Interest Questions
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/forward-deployed-engineers-face-conflict-of-interest-questions/
- Published: 2026-10-22T16:15:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-22T16:15:31.000Z
- Description: As AI vendors embed engineers directly into customer organizations—a common practice in enterprise software sales—procurement teams face a structural problem: these nominally customer-facing roles remain vendor employees with vendor incentives, creating undisclosed loyalties that could bias technica
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-brand, talent strategy, organizational structure, vendor relationships

Source: [The Register: Biting the hand that feeds](https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/10/22/vendors-asking-forward-deployed-engineers-to-make-good-on-trillion-dollar-ai-bet/5304366?ref=adjacent.media)

As AI vendors embed engineers directly into customer organizations—a common practice in enterprise software sales—procurement teams face a structural problem: these nominally customer-facing roles remain vendor employees with vendor incentives, creating undisclosed loyalties that could bias technical recommendations worth millions in deal value. The $200k+ salaries mask a misalignment where FDEs are incentivized to oversell complexity, lock in proprietary solutions, and suppress cheaper alternatives, yet operate under the appearance of neutrality that customers assume when sitting in their own conference rooms.