A forward deployed AI engineer inside your teamThe format software vendors use for their largest accounts, brought to the scale of an SME.

The bottleneck of AI in companies is no longer the model, it is deployment: connecting the model to the real tools, the real data, the real people. Large vendors answer by sending an engineer to the customer. Kapsloc does the same, for companies of ten to five hundred people, with a dated result.

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Your situations

Why AI projects stay at the prototype stage

The prototype was built in a meeting room, far from the people who will do the work, and it does not fit their reality.

Nobody in-house has time to connect the tool to the ERP, the CRM or the shared files.

The agency delivered a convincing demo, then moved on to the next client.

The specification took three months to write and is already wrong.

The topic was handed to a motivated intern who left in September.

The time-and-materials quote is open-ended, with no defined result and no end date.

What we deliver

What a forward deployed engineer brings

A use case in production, not a report

The deliverable is a tool that runs, used by your team, with its documentation and access held by you.

One person, on your premises, with your business

Two to three days a week on site or remotely depending on your habits, alongside the people who do the work. They understand the job before writing code.

A written scope and an end date

Six weeks, one use case, a budget in days announced before we start. If the scope moves, we rewrite it together, not silently.

Skills transfer

Your team knows how to use, correct and evolve the tool. Half a day of training and a short guide are part of the engagement.

How it works

How a six-week engagement unfolds

01
Week 1: immersion and choice
The engineer observes the real work, lists possible use cases and picks one with you, the quickest to put into production.
02
Weeks 2 and 3: first version
Connection to your data and tools, first usable version, first user feedback, error measurement.
03
Weeks 4 and 5: adjustments
We fix what gets in the way, add what is missing, secure the access. Documentation is written as we go.
04
Week 6: production
Team training, go-live, a figured review: time saved, errors avoided, possible next steps.

Where this format comes from

The forward deployed engineer was born at vendors of complex software, who understood that a product delivered without an engineer on site stayed in a drawer. With AI the need exploded: forward deployed engineer job postings grew ninefold in 2025, and the major models are now sold with engineers who deploy them at the customer's.

The problem: this format is reserved for large accounts, at large-account rates. Kapsloc has practised it since 2025 with SMEs, engineering offices and health organisations in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, at a scale and a price that fit them.

What changes compared with a classic project

No hundred-page specification. One page of scope, written together in week 1, updated when reality demands it.
No tunnel. A usable version by the second week, and feedback every week.
No open-ended time and materials. A number of days announced before we start, and an end date.
No dependency. Code, access and documentation stay with you. You can carry on without us.

What it is not

It is not an intern or a freelancer on time and materials: the engineer comes with Kapsloc's methods, tooling and lessons learned, and is reviewed by colleagues. It is not AI strategy consulting either: we do not deliver a plan, we deliver a tool that runs, and the plan comes afterwards, once we have seen what works.

How many days

A six-week use case represents between twelve and eighteen engineer days depending on scope. The daily rate is announced before we start and does not change along the way. For eligible French SMEs, Bpifrance's Data AI diagnostic can fund 40% of the assessment phase that precedes the engagement.

After the engagement

Three possible paths, and you choose: your team takes over the tool, the engineer comes back for a second use case, or Kapsloc operates and evolves the tool as part of its managed-services offer. In all three cases, nothing holds you back.

References

The market shifts to the forward deployed engineer model, SFEIR analysis, 2026.
The Model Context Protocol, the open standard we use to connect models to your tools.
The EU AI Act, to know what applies to your use case.

Proof

Two engagements delivered in this format

A health-orientation platform for a professional community in Gironde: knowledge graph, an assistant that cites its sources, tested by six panels of front-desk staff, with a regional funding application drafted right after.
A tender-scoring tool for an engineering office: the mandatory grid applied to every bid, the decision left to the buyer.

Frequently asked questions

Questions we are asked about this format

Is the engineer really on site?

As much as you want. Most of our engagements alternate days on site, essential at the start to understand the real work, and remote days for development. In Bordeaux as in Paris, where we work regularly, physical presence is easy to arrange; elsewhere in France it concentrates on weeks 1 and 6.

What if the chosen use case does not work?

We know by the second or third week, thanks to the first version and the error measurements. Two options: we adjust the scope, or we switch use case with the remaining budget. A quick, documented failure beats a project that drags on.

Do we need an IT department already?

No. Many of our clients have no in-house IT person. The engineer works with the business people and, if you have an IT provider, coordinates with them for access.

How is it different from a freelancer on time and materials?

The result and the date. A freelancer sells days; we sell a use case in production on a given date, with a number of days announced. The engineer also relies on Kapsloc's methods, components and peer review, and is never alone with a problem.

Can you chain several use cases?

Yes, and that is often what happens: the first use case reveals the next two. Each engagement keeps the same format, six weeks, a written scope, a dated result, which prevents a success from turning into an endless project.

An engineer in your team within two weeks

Thirty minutes to identify the first use case together and check that the format suits you.