Frequently asked questions
- Is this too junior for me?
- No. The Residency is designed for senior builders. The work is harder than most jobs, not easier.
- Is the residency paid?
- Yes. Residents receive a $2,000/month stipend so you can focus on the work.
- Is this a bootcamp?
- No. No lectures, no exercises, no capstone. You ship production software for a real customer, with a senior FDE on every call.
- Why FDE?
- Nothing else forces the full human stack at once. Palantir’s FDE program has produced 9 unicorns (Anduril, Amplitude, Handshake) and 100+ venture-backed companies, and FDE is one of the most common founder backgrounds in tech. The skills that ship a deployment are the skills that ship a company.
- Why not just take an FDE job?
- You can, and some of our residents will. In 12 weeks here you’ll get reps across scoping, stakeholders, integration, and shipping that would take years to assemble inside one company. Plus a cohort pushing you and a senior who’s seen this go wrong before.
- How is this not just another failed pilot?
- Before you write a line of code, the customer has signed acceptance criteria. A senior FDE is on every architecture call. Success is measured by whether the system is still running after you leave.
- Who are the customers?
- Confidential until onboarding. You meet them on day one.
- Who owns the code I write?
- The vendor, the customer, or the program. That’s standard for Forward Deployed Engineering.
- What if the deployment fails?
- You keep the case study and the reference letter either way. Your senior will write an honest account of what you did and how you handled it. That’s often more useful to the next hiring manager than a clean win.
- Can I keep my day job?
- No. The 12 weeks are full‑time.
- Do I need to be in the US?
- No. The Residency is fully remote. No visa, location, or timezone requirements.
- What happens after the 12 weeks?
- You join the alumni network of past residents, seniors, and future cohorts, and you’re welcome in office hours anytime. We don’t run a placement program. By then you have a production deployment, a reference letter, and a network. You won’t need one.