Forward-deployed engineering, scoped for local business

Big companies hire a forward-deployed engineer. Your business gets DeskIQ.

Palantir and OpenAI send engineers to embed inside enterprise accounts: they learn the workflows, build the system, and stay to keep it running. DeskIQ brings that motion to a local business at a fraction of the cost. We are not a full replacement for an enterprise FDE, and the service is different: we install a local AI agent system on hardware you own, configured around how you work.

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What is a forward-deployed engineer?

A forward-deployed engineer is a software engineer who embeds directly with a customer instead of building from a distance. They learn the customer's real workflows on-site, then build, configure, and deploy a working system around them, and stay to support it. Palantir and OpenAI use this model for large enterprise contracts. DeskIQ runs the same embed-build-deploy-stay motion for a single local business, at a published price instead of a custom enterprise contract.

Questions people ask.

Is this really an FDE?

It is the same motion at a smaller scale. A forward-deployed engineer at a large company works on one account for months, with a team, on a custom contract. DeskIQ scopes that motion to one business, one visit or remote session, and a published price. We do not build custom software from scratch. We configure an existing open-source agent, Hermes, around your workflows.

Do you come on-site?

Yes, for businesses in Greater Boston. We are based in Andover, Massachusetts, and can meet at your office to learn your workflows and install the assistant in person. For businesses outside the area, we run the same discovery and install process remotely, nationwide.

What does it cost per month?

The setup fee is one-time. After that, the Care Plan is $149/month for the first user and $99/month for each additional user. It covers updates, fixes, and support, with a six-month minimum, then month-to-month. Client data stays on your own hardware; you pay your AI model provider directly for usage.

For professional service firms → Based in Greater Boston? → Full FAQ →

Start with one message.

Tell us the workflow eating the most time. We will tell you honestly whether the DeskIQ forward-deployed motion fits your business, and what it would look like on your hardware.

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