Talent, Enablement & AdvisoryAI Engineering Talent
Embedded AI Engineer (FDE)
A senior BigStep AI engineer working inside your team, in your standups, your tools and your repository, for three to twelve months, directed day to day by you.
Embedded AI Engineer (FDE)
$20K–$50K a month
- Duration: 3–12 months
- Tier: Embed
- Format: Managed capacity
You leave withSenior AI capability inside the client team at a fraction of US senior hiring cost
Book a Free SessionSound familiar?
We need someone who has actually shipped LLM systems in production to sit with our team. We can’t find one — the good ones are hugely expensive and get poached within a year — and consultants who write a deck and leave don’t help us.
What you leave with
Approved senior AI engineer
Format: Named engineer, full-time
How we know it’s acceptableYou interviewed and approved the engineer before the start date.
The engineer’s work (code, pull requests, documentation)
Format: Your repository and tools
How we know it’s acceptableAccepted through your own review process. You direct the work and own it from day one; BigStep does not sign it off separately.
Monthly check-in note
Format: Short document
How we know it’s acceptableReviewed with your manager each month: focus areas, progress against your priorities, and any concerns on either side.
Knowledge-sharing sessions
Format: Live, recorded
How we know it’s acceptableHeld at least monthly and attended by your team.
Handover document at exit
Format: Document in your wiki
How we know it’s acceptableYour engineer can carry on the work without contacting the FDE.
Replacement engineer, if the original leaves
Format: Named engineer, full-time
How we know it’s acceptableApproved by you and started within the agreed replacement window.
Also included
- Full participation in your ceremonies and tools, during agreed overlap hours.
How it runs
3–12 months
Onboarding
Two weeks before start
Match
Profiles, client interview.
An approved engineer.
Weeks 1–2
Onboarding
OutAccess in place and agreed 30-day objectives.
Then, on a repeating cadence
Every month
Embedded work
OutA check-in note against objectives.
Final month
Exit or renewal
OutHandover document, or a renewal decision.
Is this right for you?
This is for you if
- Buyerthe engineering manager or CTO who has an AI initiative and nobody senior enough to lead the technical side of it.
- Also has to say yesHR or procurement (policy on contractors); security (access for an external engineer); Finance. The team the engineer joins should meet them before signature. An interview is part of the process.
When this isn't the right fit
- You need team throughput, not one person's expertise. That is a pod.
- There is nobody on your side for the engineer to work with or teach. An FDE amplifies a team. With no team, the AI Engineering Pod - Full Stack fits better.
- Your work is a bounded build with a defined outcome in under two months. That is the FDE Sprint or a fixed-scope sprint.
What’s included, and what isn’t
In scope
- one engineer, full-time
- a monthly BigStep check-in
- replacement if they leave
- a handover document at the end
Out of scope
- accountability for delivery outcomes (you direct the work. If you want us accountable for an outcome, that is the FDE Sprint)
- managing your staff
- on-call outside agreed hours
- travel unless agreed
- equipment and licences
Before we start
Before day one
- You have interviewed and approved the engineer.
- Repository, tools and environment access.
- A named manager on your side.
- Agreed 30-day objectives and overlap hours.
- Contractor and security paperwork completed.
What we’ll need from your team
- The engineer’s manager, one hour a week for a one-to-one.
- The rest of the team as ordinary colleagues. The engineer is part of the team, not a vendor alongside it.
Pricing
What we need to give you a quote
- A role description and the skills needed.
- Seniority.
- Overlap hours.
- Duration and start date.
- Your interview process.
After we hand over
Who owns it after we leave
Your manager. The work belongs to your team from day one, so there is nothing to hand back. Only knowledge to leave behind, which is why the sessions and handover document matter.
How success is measured
- 30/60/90-day objectives met
- What shipped
- How many of your engineers can ship an LLM feature on their own by the end
What comes next
- Extending the FDE
- Adding a second
Questions buyers ask us
Keep hiring. The FDE gets you shipping while you do, and can help you interview.
Fair, and true of any single hire. That is why the work is documented as it goes, a BigStep lead checks in monthly, and we replace the engineer if they leave.
The engineer is vetted by a practice that does this work, backed by colleagues they can ask, and replaced if it does not work out. You are not managing a freelancer alone.
Overlap hours are written into the contract before we start, and we tell you honestly if we cannot meet them.
You interview before anyone starts, and the first 30 days have written objectives so a bad fit shows quickly.