A Christian & Timbers study finds just 2,000 elite forward-deployed engineers (FDEs) in the U.S. yet projects demand will jump 2,100% by year-end as companies race to turn AI pilots into revenue-generating workflows. Enterprises and AI firms are building in-house FDE teams to protect proprietary processes and deliver tens of millions in ROI.

• Only ~2,000 elite forward-deployed engineers exist in the US, but demand is projected to surge 2,100% by year-end, and enterprise hiring plans jumped from under 10% in January to 70% by June.
• Companies increasingly want to build in-house FDE teams rather than rely on AI vendors, to keep proprietary workflows from leaking to firms that could become competitors.
• Christian predicts the role could be automated away by "agent agents" within a few years, shift toward physical AI/robotics in the medium term, and disappear entirely within five to ten years.