Forward deployed engineering
Our engineers join your team and ship with your people
This page is for teams with a clear goal, real systems and more work than people. Forward deployed engineering puts our engineers inside your team, so the work happens where the problems are.
What a forward deployed engineer is
A forward deployed engineer is a software engineer who works inside a client's team, day to day, as one of its members. They join your meetings, use your tools, read your code and learn how the work really happens.
They bring the method we use everywhere: rules written first, tests that fail when a rule breaks, and plain code for decisions about data. They also bring a habit of shipping small things often, so you see progress early.
It suits work where understanding the business matters as much as the code, like putting an agent in front of customers or connecting systems that have grown apart.
How an engagement runs
Every engagement moves through the same four stages. How long each one takes depends on the goal, and the proposal sets it out before we start.
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Discover
We start by listening. Our engineers meet the people who do the work, map the systems involved and write down the rules the work must follow. Together we agree the first thing to ship and how we'll know it's working.
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Embed
Our engineers join your team's rhythm: your stand-ups, your chat, your code reviews and your release process. They work in your systems with the access your team grants, and nothing leaves your environment unless you've agreed it should.
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Ship
We release in small steps, and each one is tested against the written rules. Real users see working software early, and what they tell us shapes the next step.
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Hand over
From the start, we write the notes, tests and runbooks your team will need. By the end, your people have run releases themselves and can change and extend the work without us.
What you can expect
- A written, fixed-price proposal before any work starts, with the scope and what you'll receive.
- Engineers who follow your team's ways of working, security rules and access policies.
- Rules written down first and turned into tests that run on every change.
- Accessibility checked with automated tests and by hand, on everything people will use.
- Regular, plain-language updates on what shipped, what's next and what's in the way.
- Everything we build handed over to your team: code, tests, runbooks and notes.
How it ends
A handover you plan from the first week
An embedded engagement is meant to end, so we plan the handover from the start instead of leaving it to the last few days.
By the final stage, your team knows why each rule exists, has the tests that keep those rules true and has shipped releases without us. We finish with a short written record of what was built, what was decided and what we'd watch next.
If you'd like help afterwards, we can agree that separately and in writing.
Is it a good fit?
Forward deployed engineering works best when you have a clear goal, systems we can work inside and people who'll own the result.
If you're still working out the goal, a shorter piece of discovery work may be the better place to start. We'll tell you if we think so.
Talk to us about embedding an engineer
Tell us about the goal, your team and the systems involved. We'll reply with questions and, if it fits, a written, fixed-price proposal.
hello@havihi.digital