Bob McGrew (@bobmcgrewai) helped build some of the most influential technologies of the past two decades. He was an early engineer at PayPal, an early executive at Palantir—where he helped pioneer the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) model— and was recently Chief Research…
Impressive. Sustained impact over decades is rare and a testament to adaptability. What drives such consistent innovation?
Palantir's FDE model birthed an entire generation of implementation-first startups. Deploy first, productize later
Reminds me a bit of this article from a16z I read a while ago when trying to understand the margins of AI/ML businesses. a16z.com/the-new-busine… Also, at some point. I think Scale AI was trying to execute a similar strategy. Not sure where that went…
Curious how he calling palantir a 'great thing' meanwhile credible reports show it’s just CIA funded mass surveillance disguised as a product lol watched the whole episode, he seems shrewd talkin abou AI agents and all but zero mention of the implications
I still don’t get FDE. We were doing Oracle ERP implementations for decades. It’s just basic product customisation based on client requirements. Why call it FDE when it’s customisation to the software.I gotta give it to Silicon Valley to come up with cool sounding titles.
The people who actually build the tech are the ones with the most valuable insights on where it's going.
Literally every software company I ever worked for (Lotus, IBM, Microsoft) had Sales Engineers or Solution Architects that did the same thing. Palantir just calls it a different name, Forward Deploy Engineer.
Interesting skill set needed for an FDE. Enough technical knowledge to understand the base product combined with business operations knowledge to both understand the operations of the customer and how technology can be utilized to produce a product that will fulfill a customer's…
You lost me at Palantir And you're right, you don't need to worry about scale if the ultimate aim is defence tech All you need is unlimited budgets and a population people hate. A single man can create those conditions, it's that simple.
Interesting evolution on the role title... Technical skill matters, customer empathy matters more or just as much.
@bobmcgrewai @ycombinator great to hear the backstory so many years after living it. Palantir FDE were essential in helping Coalition Forces develop accurate network / geospatial analysis and helped overcome how clunky the software could be to provide needed value.
Totally agree! Bob's take on scaling the unscalable is gold for AI builders. That FDE mindset could flip so many half-baked ideas into real winners. @bobmcgrewai nailed it!
Blimey, sounds like he’s had a proper hand in shaping the tech world! Just goes to show, you never know who’s behind the curtain pulling the strings. What’s next on his agenda, then?
this position is also called “Solution Developer” in many b2b companies since decades
I think executives from large innovative tech companies like @PalantirTech are going to join their customers @USArmy as executives and make them entirely reliant on these platforms. In 5 years, the @CIA will entirely run on Palantir and they will be a mega conglomerate.
From PayPal to Chief Research—what a stellar lineup of achievements, Bob! Keep inspiring! 🌟🚀
See the full transcription here videotobe.com/play/youtube/Z…
Great talk! Is an FDE typically involved in both pre-sales ("sales engineer") and post-sales ("solutions architects"/ProServe). Given the complexity, I'm curious how is their work priced: one-off or baked into contracts, and who's responsible for pricing?
That's an impressive career trajectory, Bob! 🚀 Keep innovating the future! 👏
From pioneering roles at PayPal to leading at Palantir—Bob definitely knows how to make an impact! Keep shining! 🌟💼
So basically, like the rest of you ycombinator trash, he's a fucking nazi helping. destroy democracy in the name of rich white men? Cool story bro.
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