Cloud & DevOps
Forward Deployed Engineering
Two senior engineers inside your team for four weeks, working one platform against one agreed Mission.
Forward deployed engineering puts the people who make the changes inside the team that owns the platform. A Dedicatted Mission is four weeks of that, on one bounded platform, against one objective and a prioritised backlog. You get implemented changes and measured results, and your engineers see how every change was made.
- 4 weeks Two senior engineers inside your team, one platform, one fixed price
- 8 Missions Five on the platform, two on AI, one you define
-
AWS Premier Tier
Partnered with AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud -
SOC 2 + ISO 27001
The same controls inside your team as on our own delivery
What forward deployed engineering is
Engineers, not advisors
The people who arrive are the people who make the changes. There is no report to act on afterwards, because the work was done during the residency, in your repositories, under your review.
Your platform, not a lab
Every change lands in your environments, through your pipelines and your controls. Nothing is built somewhere else and handed over. Your team reviews each change and can explain it later.
Your team leaves stronger
Knowledge moves by working side by side on real problems, not by training or a workshop. By week four your engineers have made the same kind of decisions with us and can keep making them without us, and the way we worked stays with the team.
Is a Mission for you
-
You have an engineering team
Four to six engineers and one owner for the platform. A Mission works beside a team, and does not replace one. If nobody on your side runs the platform today, Managed Services is the honest answer.
-
One platform with one owner
One team, one architecture, one operating model. A Kubernetes platform, a landing zone, a CI/CD platform, an observability stack, a data or AI platform. Not the whole estate.
-
A problem you can name
Cost, resilience, security posture, developer experience, operational visibility, or an AI pilot that needs to reach production. The objective is agreed before day one.
-
Not for a strategy
If you need a target architecture and a roadmap before anyone touches anything, start with DevOps Consulting. A Mission begins engineering within days.
-
Not for the whole estate
Optimising every account and every team is a programme, not a four-week Mission. Cloud Optimization scopes that kind of work.
-
Not for a platform that does not exist yet
A Mission improves a platform that runs. A greenfield build is Engineering Services, and the first Mission comes after.
Eight Missions
A Mission names the outcome and we bring the capabilities that reach it. Cutting Kubernetes cost took performance, FinOps, Kubernetes and observability. Seven we run most, the eighth is yours to define.
-
Performance and Efficiency
A faster platform that costs less
The workRight-sized nodes and autoscaling, hot paths tuned, bill and latency measured before and after. Performance, FinOps, observability.
Leaves behindA cheaper, faster platform with the numbers to prove it
-
Resilience
Fewer incidents, faster recovery
The workFailure domains mapped, recovery tested for real, runbooks a new engineer can follow. Resilience, SRE, automation, observability.
Leaves behindTested recovery paths and runbooks your team has run
-
Security Hardening
A tighter posture, by engineering
The workIAM, secrets, network controls and pipeline security fixed in code, with detection that fires. Security, platform engineering, automation.
Leaves behindControls in code and detection that fires
-
Platform Engineering
Teams that ship without waiting
The workGolden paths and self-service environments in your internal developer platform, with the pipelines to match. IaC, CI/CD, developer experience.
Leaves behindSelf-service paths your teams already use
-
SRE and Observability
See the platform and run it calmly
The workDashboards, alerting and SLOs on your own telemetry that cut alert noise and shorten incidents. Metrics, logging, tracing, SLOs.
Leaves behindSLOs your team reads, less noise, shorter incidents
-
AIOps AI Mission
AI inside your operations
The workAI-assisted incident investigation and alert correlation on your telemetry, grounded in your runbooks. Operations, AI, automation.
Leaves behindAI inside your runbooks, with the guardrails to trust it
-
Agent to Production AI Mission
A pilot that reaches production
The workYour agent in production on your own platform, with an evaluation framework, guardrails and the tooling to operate it. Model platform, evaluation, operations.
Leaves behindAn agent your team can run and measure
-
Your Mission
Any platform, one outcome
The workName the outcome. Real problems cross disciplines, so we bring the capabilities yours needs rather than a single lens.
Leaves behindWhat we agree in scoping, measured the same way
How a Mission is written
P0, the objective
One outcome the residency exists to reach, agreed before day one and measured at the end. A smaller Kubernetes bill, a tighter security posture, an AI pilot in production, a platform that recovers on its own.
P1 and P2, the backlog
Three to five priority items the team commits to for the four weeks, and the additional opportunities it takes on if capacity allows. Agreed in week one, worked in the open, measured as they land.
P3, what comes next
Everything found during the Mission that is valuable and does not fit the four weeks, prioritised and handed over. It becomes the next Mission, a scoped project, a retainer or Managed Services, and it is yours either way.
A Mission, consulting, staff augmentation or managed operations
Four ways to get help with a platform. They answer different questions, so the table routes you to the right one, including when it is not us.
- FDE Mission Two engineers, four weeks, one outcome
- Consulting Advice and a plan to act on
- Staff augmentation Engineers on your backlog, your way
- Managed Services A platform run for you, continuously
| FDE Mission Two engineers, four weeks, one outcome | Consulting Advice and a plan to act on | Staff augmentation Engineers on your backlog, your way | Managed Services A platform run for you, continuously | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | Two of our senior engineers, with yours | Our architects, advising | Our engineers, on your backlog | Our operations team |
| What you get | Implemented changes, measured results | A target architecture and a roadmap | Tickets closed, your way | A platform that is run for you |
| Who owns the outcome | We do until week four, then you | Your team, when it implements | You do | We do, continuously |
| How long | Four weeks | Two to eight weeks | Months to years | Ongoing |
| Best for | One platform, one objective, fixed price | You need the plan before the work | You need hands and know what to build | Nobody on your side should run it |
| See the eight Missions → | DevOps Consulting → | Nearshore development → | Managed Services → |
A Mission is for a team that runs its platform. If you need a plan, hands or someone to run it, see the other columns.
Scope a MissionWhat a Mission leaves behind
Implemented changes
Infrastructure code, pipeline changes, configuration, dashboards and runbooks, merged into your repositories and running in your environments. Not a list of recommendations.
Measured results
A baseline taken in week one and read again in week four. Cost, latency, recovery time, alert volume or deployment frequency, whichever the Mission set out to move.
Practices that stay
The operating methods we used with your team. Pairing on every change, architecture decisions written down, runbooks a new engineer can follow, review gates in the pipeline, incidents handled the same way twice. They are yours after week four, along with the people who learned them.
A backlog you own
Everything found and not finished, prioritised. It becomes the next Mission, a scoped project, a retainer or Managed Services, and it is yours either way.
The four-week rhythm
Engineering begins within days. Week one is not an assessment phase.
-
Week 1
Embed and start
Meet the team, review the platform, validate access, take the baseline, agree the backlog and begin changes.
- Baseline metrics recorded
- P0 objective and three to five P1 items agreed
- First changes merged within days
-
Weeks 2 and 3
Embedded engineering
Investigate, design, implement, test and measure, alongside your engineers on real problems, on whatever the Mission needs.
- Pair engineering on every change
- Architecture calls made together, written down
- Results measured as they land
-
Week 4
Complete, validate and continue
Finish the priority items, validate and stabilise, confirm the transfer, prioritise what comes next.
- Priority work completed and validated
- Your engineers can explain every change
- Next backlog prioritised and handed over
The commitment, in numbers
The numbers are the programme's own, not a market claim.
- 2 senior engineers, a Lead Platform Engineer and a Senior Platform Engineer
- 4 weeks, with engineering from the first days
- 1 platform, one owner, one agreed Mission
- 3 to 5 priority items the team commits to, with more if capacity allows
Specialists in security, FinOps, Kubernetes, networking, SRE and observability, AI and AIOps, and data platforms join for the part of the Mission that needs them. The two engineers work on site by default, and remote days are the option, not the rule.
Any platform, any team
The model the platforms adopted
In 2026 AWS, Microsoft, Google and the AI labs all stood up forward deployed teams, and AWS opened the method to its consulting partners. A Mission is Dedicatted’s version of that method.
Any platform
A Mission works on the platform your team owns. A cloud landing zone on AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud, a Kubernetes platform wherever it runs, a CI/CD or observability stack, a data or AI platform, or your own infrastructure. The AWS Premier Tier partnership is proof of depth, not a condition of the engagement.
Any team
Cloud, DevOps, platform and SRE teams of four to six engineers with one platform owner, in enterprise and mid-market organisations. The engineering changes with the platform. The rhythm and the leave-behind do not.
Platform work we have shipped
All case studies
From Zero to Developer-Ready Platform in Two Weeks
How a full CI/CD, GitOps, and SOC 2-ready cloud platform was built and launched from zero in just two weeks.
Strengthening Platform Reliability and Service Continuity Through Managed Support Services
Discover how our Managed Support Services enhanced platform reliability, ensuring 24/7 support, incident management, and business continuity for e-commerce.
Scaling Platform Stability and Operational Maturity with Managed Support Services
Ensure platform stability with 24/7 Managed Support Services. Proactive monitoring, incident resolution, and compliance to optimize performance and reliability.
Who is in the room
Two of ours inside a team of yours. Each row is a pair that works together for the four weeks.
- Your team
Platform owner
Agrees the objective and owns the backlog
DedicattedLead Platform Engineer
Owns the Mission. Sets the baseline and makes the architecture calls with your team.
- Your team
Platform engineers
Four to six, paired on every change
DedicattedSenior Platform Engineer
Hands on every day. Infrastructure as code, pipelines, Kubernetes, observability.
- Your team
Application teams, security, managers
Join the sessions that concern them
DedicattedSpecialists on call
Security, FinOps, networking, SRE, AI and AIOps, data platforms. For the part that needs them, not by default.
- Your team
Your team, from week five
Runs the platform with the backlog it owns
DedicattedManaged operations, optional
Takes the backlog when a team wants it operated rather than owned.
The standard Mission is two people, not three architects. That is what keeps it four weeks.
Who leads it
Two people who have run platforms for customers and will scope your Mission.
-
-
FAQ
What is forward deployed engineering?
Forward deployed engineering places software engineers inside a customer’s team for a defined period to build and change systems in the customer’s own environment, and holds them accountable for what is running when they leave. The term comes from military vocabulary and was in use at Palantir by 2009. In 2026 AWS, OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google all stood up forward deployed teams. Our explainer What is a forward deployed engineer? covers the role, its history and how it differs from a consultant.
How is a Mission different from consulting?
Consulting produces recommendations for your team to implement. A Mission implements. Our engineers make the changes in your repositories and environments, with your engineers, and the Mission is judged on what is running in week four rather than on a document.
How is a Mission different from staff augmentation?
Augmentation supplies engineers to work your backlog your way, for as long as you need them. A Mission brings its own method, a fixed length, one agreed objective and accountability for the outcome. It ends on purpose, with your team able to continue.
How is a Mission different from Managed Services?
Managed Services runs your platform for you, continuously. A Mission improves a platform your team runs and then hands it back. Many Missions end with a backlog that becomes Managed Services work, and that path is open, but it is a separate decision.
What counts as one platform?
One primary engineering team, one technical owner, one reasonably consistent architecture, one operating model and one clearly defined domain. A Kubernetes platform, a business unit’s cloud platform, an internal developer platform, a CI/CD or observability platform, a data or AI platform, a landing zone. Several environments count as one platform when the same team operates them on the same architecture.
Do Missions only run on AWS?
No. A Mission works on the platform your team owns, on AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud, on Kubernetes wherever it is hosted, on data and AI platforms, and on your own infrastructure. Dedicatted is an AWS Premier Tier Services Partner and also works with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. The method does not change with the platform, only the engineering does.
What can two engineers change in four weeks?
A defined amount, which is the point. The commitment is three to five priority engineering items on one platform, with more if capacity allows, and every change measured. Reducing Kubernetes cost, tightening a security posture, cutting alert noise or taking an AI pilot to production are all four-week shapes. Optimising an entire cloud estate is not, and we say so at scoping.
Who owns the code and the changes?
You do, from the first commit. Everything is written into your repositories, under your review and your controls. There is no handover at the end because nothing was held back.
Do your engineers work on site?
Yes, by default. The standard Mission is on site with your engineers for the working week, and remote days are the option, agreed when the work allows it. Our engineers work as part of your engineering organisation for four weeks, not as consultants attending meetings. Specialists join remotely for the part of the Mission that needs them.
What happens after week four?
The Mission ends with a prioritised backlog you own. It can become the next Mission, a scoped project, a retainer, or Managed Services. Or nothing further, with your team continuing on its own. All four are fine outcomes.
What does a Mission cost?
One fixed price, set by the Mission you choose and its scope, agreed before it starts. Specialists are priced into it when the Mission needs them. There is no hourly billing and no change-order cycle.
Question not answered? Ask an engineer.
Forward deployed engineering, explained
Forward deployed engineering is the practice of placing software engineers inside a customer’s team, in the customer’s own environment, for a defined period, and holding them accountable for the outcome rather than for hours or a report. The engineers attend the customer’s standups, commit to the customer’s repositories and make the changes themselves. The term comes from military vocabulary, deployed forward to the point of action, and Palantir used the title from 2009. In 2026 the model went mainstream when AWS, OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google each stood up forward deployed engineering teams, and AWS opened the method to its consulting partners. The role itself is explained in What is a forward deployed engineer?
Dedicatted delivers forward deployed engineering as a four-week Mission on the platform the customer’s team owns, whether that is a cloud landing zone on AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud, a Kubernetes platform, a CI/CD or observability stack, a data or AI platform, or the customer’s own infrastructure. Two senior platform engineers embed with a team of four to six customer engineers, work one bounded platform against one agreed objective and a prioritised backlog, and leave behind implemented changes, measured results and a backlog the customer owns. It is embedded engineering, not consulting workshops and not staff augmentation, and it ends on purpose with the customer’s own team able to continue. The engineers work on site by default, as part of the customer’s engineering organisation, with remote days as the option.
Platform engineering services, delivered as a four-week Mission
Most of what a Mission does is platform engineering. Infrastructure as code with Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes configuration and optimisation, golden paths and self-service environments in an internal developer platform, observability with metrics, logging, tracing and SLOs, security hardening across IAM, secrets, network controls and pipeline security, and the reliability and cost work that follows. The Platform Engineering Mission packages that as a four-week engagement with an agreed objective, so platform engineering services arrive as working changes in your platform rather than as a roadmap.
Forward deployed engineering on any platform
Missions run on the platform the customer’s team owns, on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, on Kubernetes wherever it is hosted, on CI/CD, observability, data and AI platforms, and on hybrid and on-premises infrastructure, because the rhythm and the leave-behind do not depend on the platform. Platform Missions work on managed Kubernetes such as Amazon EKS, Azure Kubernetes Service and Google Kubernetes Engine, on landing zones and on the services around them. AI Missions take a pilot to production on the model platform the customer already uses, with an evaluation framework, guardrails and the tooling to operate agents afterwards. Dedicatted is an AWS Premier Tier Services Partner with a Strategic Collaboration Agreement and works with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, so the bench behind a Mission is the same practice that runs the managed operations.
How a Mission is priced
One fixed price for the two-person, four-week Mission, agreed before it starts against the objective and the backlog. Specialists are priced into the scope when the Mission needs them. There is no hourly billing and no change-order cycle, which is what lets the team make changes from the first days rather than negotiate them.
Who a Mission is for
Enterprise and mid-market teams that already run a cloud, DevOps, platform engineering or SRE function and want one platform materially better in a month. It is not for organisations without an engineering team, for whom Managed Services is the honest answer, and it is not a way to optimise an entire cloud estate in four weeks.
Scope a Mission with an engineer
Tell us which platform, who owns it and what you want to be different in four weeks. An engineer replies within one business day with a first cut of the objective and the backlog.
Thanks, we have it.
Our team replies within one business day, with relevant experience and a first read on your problem.