Writing
Notes from the field.
Thoughts on forward deployed engineering, enterprise software, international geopolitics and economics, and building technology that solves real problems.
New essays and episodes go out on FDE Pod.
My Substack and podcast, exploring Forward Deployed Engineering, AI, enterprise software, startups — and the builders turning technology into real-world outcomes.
Forward Deployed Engineering 101
I gave the FDE 101 talk to a thousand AI engineers. It's a design partnership that scales into enterprise and never ends.
Read→What It Means to Be a Forward Deployed Engineer
The best commercial motion in enterprise software is the one nobody puts on the org chart.
Read→The Flat Title: Why "Member of Technical Staff" Works
At Palantir, "Forward Deployed Engineer" was completely flat—no Senior, no Staff, no Principal. "Member of Technical Staff" shares that spirit. A flat title isn't a gimmick. It's a forcing function.
Read→We Free Smart People to Work on Hard Problems
What Rippling on the Road reminded me about the real job of an FDE
Read→What Is a Forward Deployed Engineer?
Lessons from My Propel 2026 Keynote - May 2026
Read→The Cost Paradox: Why Cheaper Software Means More Software
When costs drop, people don't buy less—they spend the same and buy more. This counterintuitive truth explains why cheaper software development won't kill software companies. It will make them more valuable.
Read→Where Foundation Models Can't Beat Software Companies
Software companies can access foundation models via API, but foundation models can't easily replicate complex software systems. This asymmetric advantage creates durable moats that foundation model companies cannot match.
Read→The Real-World Moat: Beyond Code
Software is more than code. Regulatory licensing, money movement, insurance enrollment, and tax filings create moats that go far beyond what foundation models can replicate. These real-world complexities are where software companies have their strongest advantages.
Read→MCPs Are Quietly Replacing Postman and curl
MCPs are quietly replacing Postman and curl—and most people haven't noticed yet. Agentic tools just gave users a shorter path to what they actually want.
Read→Technology as a Means, Not a Goal
Technology is the means, not the goal. Perfect code belongs in academia. Solve the problem, then iterate.
Read→Lessons from Working Abroad
We're all the same. So let's have empathy for one another as the world gets smaller.
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