# Forward Deployed Engineer jobs in San Francisco

> San Francisco is the epicenter of the role. OpenAI, Anthropic and Scale AI are headquartered here; Palantir was born in the Bay. This is where the Forward Deployed Engineer title was industrialized, and where the pay is highest anywhere on earth.

**Region:** North America · **Country:** United States

## Why San Francisco

Every frontier lab is here, and so is the deepest pool of engineers who've shipped in production.

## The ecosystem

- OpenAI · HQ
- Anthropic · HQ
- Scale AI
- Sierra
- Glean
- Databricks
- Palantir · home turf

## Who is hiring here

- **OpenAI · Anthropic** (Frontier lab) — SF headquarters, hiring FDEs for enterprise & government
- **Scale AI · Sierra · Glean** (Startup) — Applied-AI companies with deployment teams
- **Databricks** (Enterprise) — Enterprise data & AI deployment *(emerging)*

## Compensation

Real figures, in USD. San Francisco is the top of the global market — frontier labs pay 2–3.5× Palantir's classic FDSE at the same level, with the gap almost entirely in equity.

- Market median · base: ~$194K
- Typical range · 25th–75th: $160K–$252K
- Palantir FDSE · TC: $171K–$295K (median $211K)
- Frontier lab mid–senior · TC: $350K–$550K
- Staff / principal · OpenAI, Anthropic: $610K–$1.2M+

Equity is now 55–70% of comp at the top, up from 35–45% in 2024.

**Sources:** Glassdoor/ZipRecruiter (SF FDE median ~$194–199K), Levels.fyi (Palantir FDSE), 2026 FDE comp report.

## Remote

FDE work is client-facing, but the Bay is home base for the labs — a mix of on-site with clients and time at HQ. From SF you're closest to the source of the role.

## Questions people actually ask

### Is San Francisco the best market for FDEs?

For pay and proximity to the frontier labs, yes — the densest, highest-paying FDE market anywhere.

### What does an FDE earn in SF?

Base medians near $194K; total comp from ~$211K at Palantir to $350–550K mid/senior at OpenAI/Anthropic, and $1.2M+ for principals.

### Remote from SF?

Client work is on-site, but the labs are headquartered here, so many roles mix HQ and client time.

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Source: https://forward-deployed-engineer.tech/fde-jobs/san-francisco
Publication: Forward Deployed — the publication of record for Forward Deployed Engineering.
Editor: Pierre-Thomas Liger-Belair.
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