Fractional Forward Deployed Engineer
I embed with your team and build your first real production AI win — on your data, inside your constraints — then harden it and hand it over so you own it. For teams stuck in the gap between an impressive demo and a system that survives production.
The problem it solves
Your team built a demo that impressed everyone — and then it stalled. Real data is messy, cost at volume is scary, security review is looming, and the edge cases keep multiplying. The hard 80% of an AI product lives after the demo, and it's hard to cross alone. A fractional forward deployed engineer closes that gap by building the win with you, in your environment.
What you get
- A senior engineer embedded with your team (part-time / fractional), building on your real data from day one.
- A first production win shipped end to end — not a demo, a system that clears a bar you agreed up front.
- Evaluation, guardrails, cost/latency control, and a security posture that survives review.
- A clean handover — code, architecture, and the understanding behind it — so your team runs it without me.
- A reusable pattern left behind, so the next win is cheaper.
How it works — the Deploy-to-Win Loop
- Qualify & Scope — agree the production success criteria (task, bar, sign-off) before building.
- Build — the thinnest thing that proves value on your real data.
- Prove — measured against the agreed bar, with evaluation and guardrails.
- Productize & hand over — harden, govern, document, and transfer ownership.
More on the method in the Forward-Deployed Playbook and the AI Forward Deployed Engineer series.
Who it's for
AI and technical teams — from seed-stage startups to enterprises and regulated banks — with a promising demo that has to become dependable production value. I've delivered across FinTech, Open Banking, telecom, energy, and critical national infrastructure.
Scoped to the outcome, not hours. The first engagement is available at beta pricing in exchange for a testimonial and a case study.
What colleagues and clients say
“What stood out immediately was his ability to balance hands-on technical depth with genuine leadership. He built out the migration tooling while keeping his team aligned, unblocked, and motivated throughout. […] Pratik was equally comfortable in front of the client.”— Anupam Bhattacharyya, who managed Pratik directly, from my LinkedIn recommendations
“He combines serious technical depth in software engineering with great leadership skills. […] He integrated AI tooling and automation into our workflows, which noticeably improved our speed and reliability.”— Vinayaka Iyer, Software Engineer, from my LinkedIn recommendations
Let's scope your first win
Tell me where your AI is stuck between demo and production — we'll figure out the shortest path to a real result.