AI-native engineers,
embedded inside
your operation.
Senior engineers who embed inside your operation, ship production AI on your stack, and leave your team able to run it. Not beside it — inside it.
It is never the technology.
It is always the deployment.
More than 80% of AI and digital transformation projects fail. Not because the technology does not work — because the people delivering it never understood the business they were building for.
An FDE embeds inside
your operation.
Your repo, your Slack, your standups, your sprints. They learn the business from inside it, then build it. Every engagement ends with your team owning the capability — not depending on ours.
- —Writes production-grade code from Day 1
- —Owns architecture decisions inside your stack
- —Ships MCP servers, AI agents, integrations
- —Sets the engineering standard for the team
- —Works in your repo, tools, and pipelines
- —Learns how decisions are made in your org
- —Attends product standups and sprint planning
- —Translates business context into engineering
- —Surfaces what no one has written down yet
- —Bridges leadership and delivery team
- —Documents every system and workflow built
- —Pair programs with your internal engineers
- —Trains your team to extend and own the work
- —No dependency created — no knowledge lost
- —Convertible to full-time at your option
Compare the models.
| Dimension | Traditional Staffing | Big-Firm Consulting | Knovus Forward Deployed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seniority | Mixed — juniors common | Senior rates, junior delivery | Senior only, AI-native screened |
| Time to Productivity | 4–8 weeks of ramp | Months to mobilize | Ships in the first week |
| What You Receive | Resumes, not results | Decks, not deployed AI | Production systems, owned by you |
| Business Context | None — executes a spec | Surface-level discovery | Embedded — learns from inside |
| Knowledge After | Walks out with the person | Creates dependency, not capability | Documented, transferred, yours |
| Accountability | Hours billed | Engagement scope, not outcomes | Outcomes shipped and measured |
| AI-Native Screen | No standard | No — generalists at AI rates | Hard screen on every placement |
| Speed | Weeks to start | Months to mobilize | Deployed in as little as 48 hrs |
One operating model
behind both.
Deploy a specialist or bring in an embedded AI pod. Either way, the capability stays with you.
Deployed Specialist
You know what you need. Knovus sources the right AI-native FDE, pre-vetted against your actual requirements — stack, domain, seniority, culture. You manage them directly.
- ✓AI-native screened — hard filter on every placement
- ✓Deployed in as little as 48 hours via Knovus's senior network
- ✓Ships production code in the first week, not the first quarter
- ✓Convertible to full-time at client option, no conversion fee
Embedded AI Pod
You are standing up a new capability and need more than one person. Knovus designs the team, places the right FDEs, and co-manages delivery alongside yours. The outcome stays with you.
- ✓Pre-formed FDE pods: Head of AI, engineers, delivery lead
- ✓AI strategy through custom AI product delivery
- ✓Accelerators for Finance, Revenue, Customer, and People Ops
- ✓Knovus delivery manager co-manages alongside your team
Scope. Source.
Deploy. Transfer.
Scope
We map the real requirement against your team architecture, stack, and delivery gaps. Not keywords on a job description. We start with the business outcome, not the tool.
Source
From Knovus's pre-vetted AI-native senior network, 2–3 FDE profiles matched on domain, stack, seniority, and client culture. No spray-and-pray.
Deploy
The FDE joins your repos, your standups, your sprints. Shipping production work in the first week. System access and architecture review within 48 hours.
Transfer
Documentation, pair programming, and training built into every engagement. Your team owns what was built. No dependency. Convertible to full-time.
Rolling out ChatGPT
is not deploying AI.
Every Knovus FDE is AI-native — a hard screen on every placement.
AI-native is how every person works — research, analysis, presentations, financial models, operations, hiring. FDEs rebuild those workflows, not just the codebase.
Before any new hire or workflow, the first question is: can AI do this? The answer is not always yes — but the question is always asked.
AI-native has a technical floor: your systems exposed to agents through MCP servers, CLIs, and skills. FDEs build that layer on your exact stack.
Pilots do not make teams AI-native. Production workflows do. Every FDE Knovus deploys has shipped AI in production.
Knovus's AI-native screen is run by people who have done the work — Claude Code, MCP servers, RAG, agentic workflows, TypeScript, Python in production.
Every engagement is scoped to end. FDEs document, pair-program, and train. The FDE raises your ceiling, not replaces it.
Engineering Leaders, Growth-Stage
Your roadmap is approved, your team is strong, but every initiative takes six months before anything ships. You need engineers who operate from Day 1.
Tech Leaders at System Integrators
A key technical role is open or under-resourced. An FDE embeds as a seamless extension of your team — indistinguishable to the end client.
PE Portfolio Companies Post-Acquisition
Day 30 post-close, the operating thesis requires systems that did not exist. No time for a consulting engagement. An FDE builds the infrastructure.
Companies Running Platform Migrations
The vendor delivered the base install but the business isn't getting value. An FDE who has shipped on this platform closes the gap.
Consulting-grade accountability.
Staffing economics.
Industry average for a senior tech placement is 44 days. Knovus's pre-qualified network cuts that to as little as 48 hours.
Only
Run by practitioners who have shipped AI in production. If they cannot pass, they do not get to your team.
Delivery management operates on US EST hours. A team that is live when you are — not overnight offshore delays.
Every engagement ends with your team stronger — documentation and knowledge transfer built in from day one.
Compliance-First, Back-Office Handled
W2 and EOR arrangements, I-9/E-Verify, background checks, MSA alignment — handled so clients stay focused on delivery.
One Specialist or the Whole AI Arm
Start with a single FDE or let the Embedded AI Pod be your full AI delivery function. Convert anyone to full-time at your option.
The people who understand your problem should be the ones solving it.
Give us one problem. Let us prove it.
AI Strategy Session
Tell us the value creation plan; we map the FDE capability needed to ship it.
FDE Profile Review
2–3 curated profiles matched to your actual stack, domain, and delivery gap.
90-Day Pilot
A defined success scorecard, a delivery manager, and a knowledge transfer plan baked in.