Indian GCCs outpace IT firms in hiring forward deployed engineers
Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India have pulled ahead of traditional IT firms when it comes to hiring Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs), the people who help companies roll out AI at scale.
Over the past year, demand for FDEs jumped 55% to 65% in GCCs, compared with 40% to 45% growth at IT services firms.
It's all part of a bigger push to bring more AI into everyday business.
FDE job postings surge 700%-800%
GCCs are hiring specialized FDE talent from the market to build long-term enterprise capabilities, while IT companies are busy reskilling their current teams.
Job postings for FDE roles have exploded by 700% to 800% since last year, thanks to major investments in AI tech.
To attract top talent, GCCs are offering salaries that can be 30% to 40% higher than usual: entry-level pay starts around ₹18 lakh to ₹25 lakh, and experienced pros can make ₹50 lakh to ₹80 lakh or more.
With demand expected to keep rising fast, FDEs are quickly becoming some of the hottest jobs in tech right now.