Understand the customer
Turn ambiguous requests into clear requirements, constraints, trade-offs and an achievable first release.
Output: Customer brief + risk register
Hands-on Forward Deployment Engineering
Learn FDE by solving real customer problems.
Practice customer discovery, architecture, AI guardrails, code fixes and incident response inside guided enterprise simulations.
Real Git repositoriesSandboxed checksPortfolio-ready evidence
PROJECT ATLAS
LIVE
Acme Corp needs an autonomous support agent.
Security has blocked the release because destructive actions have no manual approval gate.
Your mission
Identify the real requirement and define a safe first release.$ fde mission inspect atlas --phase DISCOVER
Stakeholders loaded
Customer constraints available
Evidence will be captured as you work
Free previewTry one decision
What you'll practice
The FDE role, simplified into three capabilities.
Understand the customer. Build the right solution. Operate it safely.
Build the solution
Design architecture, work inside real codebases, implement integrations and apply practical AI safety controls.
Output: Architecture + tested Git changes
Operate it safely
Triage incidents, read logs, make production trade-offs and hand over a system another team can operate.
Output: Postmortem + runbook
Your first customer
Meet Project Atlas.
Join an enterprise AI rollout already in trouble. Requirements are unclear, security has concerns, the codebase has defects and production traffic won't behave nicely.
Evidence, not completion badges
You leave with work you can actually discuss.
Every major mission produces reviewable engineering evidence.
Customer Brief
Requirements, assumptions, stakeholders and constraints.
Architecture + Git
Design decisions and tested implementation changes.
Incident Postmortem
Diagnosis, mitigation, root cause and follow-up actions.
Readiness Report
A concise record of evaluated work and skill evidence.
Personalized starting point
Start from where you are.
The free preview is one customer decision, with no account. After you create an account, a starting-point check picks only the lessons you still need.
Recommended route
Cloud / DevOps → FDE
Build on your infrastructure depth by focusing on discovery, application code and customer-facing delivery.
Customer discoveryApplication debuggingAI guardrails
After an account, suggested path: 12–16 hours
Try the free preview →Try one decision before you create an account.
The preview is a single customer decision. No card. An account comes after, when you want a personal path.
FAQ
A few things learners ask first.
Do I need to already be an FDE?
No. The diagnostic is designed to find your strongest starting point and recommend what to practice next.
Is this a video course?
No. Explanations support the work, but the core experience is completing realistic engineering missions.
Do I work with real code?
Yes. Missions are designed around repositories, tests, operational evidence and engineering artifacts rather than multiple-choice assessments.
What is Project Atlas?
Project Atlas is a realistic, 5-phase Forward Deployment Engineering engagement with Acme Corp. You practice stakeholder discovery, safety architecture, bug fixes, incident response, and executive handover.
Can I try DeploymentLab for free?
Yes. The short preview and the starting-point check are free, with no card required.