Forward deployed engineering, remote and embedded in your team
I work the forward deployed way, fully remote: embedded in your team and accountable for an agreed part of the product. I have never held the job title; at Leadbay, I owned the frontend for 21 months, working directly with the CTO.
- Embedded in your team
- Fully remote
- LLM integration
- MCP servers
- RAG
- Written handover
Where I have worked this way
Four projects from three client engagements, each inside the client's team, and two products I built myself.
B2B prospecting platform, web and mobile
The whole web and mobile frontend, built from scratch, then evolved with the product team through continuous fixes and features
Personalised workout generator
Sole technical owner of a product in production, turning field feedback into its roadmap, release after release
Institutional design system for React and Angular
Main developer inside the school's teams, with its UX designers: one component library for its React and Angular applications
Sciences Po · Confidential project
Full-stack foundation of an academic portal
Built with another developer, alongside the school's product, UX and IT teams, from architecture to CI/CD deployment
National website and dealer-site platform
Inside the delivery team: full frontend autonomy, Symfony backend work and regular production releases
Open-source agentic RAG for coding agents
I designed and built its library, CLI and MCP server, which give Claude Code and Codex cited context from local code and documents
An agreed scope, under my responsibility
Most of this way of working fits a freelance contract: I join your tools and review process, take an agreed part of the product, build it in your repository, release it with your team and write the handover.
We agree in writing on the outcome, the first part to ship and how we will know it is done. I work in small reviewed and tested steps, inside your access rules; your security and data-protection teams keep the final say, and I do not certify compliance.
Remote does not mean out of reach: I join your stand-ups, reviews and demos by video, and write progress, questions and decisions in your own chat and tracker, so nothing waits for a meeting.
What you receive
- Working code in your own repository, reviewed and tested
- An agreed feature or integration, released through your own pipeline
- Written progress updates and a log of technical decisions
- Documentation and a handover, so your team can run and change it without me
- Engagement
- Team support or delivery of an agreed feature
- Schedule
- Agreed for the engagement
- Indicative rate
- €550 excl. VAT / day (October 2026)
- Collaboration
- Fully remote
- Start date
- To be agreed
A senior developer inside your team
Clients point out how quickly I understand the context and how autonomous I am. I also work with coding agents such as Claude Code, within each client's rules.
Through jCode, I work with public institutions, established companies and startups. My own products, WorkoutGen and Ragmir, taught me what follows a release.
- of web development
- 10 years
- missions completed on Malt (November 2026)
- 80+
- as a freelancer
- 7 years
- from 47 client ratings on Malt (November 2026)
- 5.0/5
Other areas of expertise
What clients and colleagues say
“Excellent niveau, s'acclimate vite avec son nouvel environnement de travail (compréhension de la stack, des outils de communication, de l'industrie), très autonome et même pro-actif sur la prise de décision. Excellente communication du travail en cours et restant. Se rend facilement disponible. Je recommande pour tout dev d'application web complexe et équipe haut niveau.”
Malt“I strongly recommend working with JB. He was instrumental in getting our frontend off the ground, handling everything with zeal, unwavering dedication, and unparalleled reliability.”
LinkedIn“Jean-Baptiste nous a aidé dans le développement frontend de notre outil Sweez. C'est un développeur talentueux et hautement compétent. Son expertise technique et sa capacité à résoudre les problèmes de manière créative font de lui un atout précieux pour toute équipe de développement. Il est fiable, consciencieux et démontre une grande attention aux détails dans son travail. Il communique bien et est force de proposition. La qualité de son code et sa capacité d'adaptation sont remarquables.”MaltLet's talk about your project.
Tell me what you want to build or improve, your budget and your target date.
- Fully remote
- English or French
- France · UK · US
Frequently asked questions
What is a forward deployed engineer?
An engineer who builds and runs a system inside the customer's environment, then feeds what the field teaches back to the product. Palantir created the role; AI vendors and data platforms popularised the title in 2025 and 2026. Neither standardised nor protected, it covers very different jobs.
Can a freelancer work as a forward deployed engineer?
Yes. The work fits a freelance contract, but the title is given by an employer and I have never held it. I do the embedded delivery; turning field feedback into a product roadmap only happened on my own products, WorkoutGen and Ragmir.
How is it different from a solutions engineer or a consultant?
A solutions engineer designs and demonstrates before the sale; a consultant diagnoses and advises; a forward deployed engineer writes code in the customer's environment until it runs. My work is closest to the last. For advice rather than code, technical and AI consulting is the better fit.
Do you work on site?
No. All my freelance work is fully remote, as were my 18 months with Sciences Po, 21 months at Leadbay and a year at Suzuki France.
What do you need to start?
A named contact on your side, access to your repository and environments, and an outcome you can measure. We then agree in writing on the first part to ship, the schedule and the price.
What does it cost?
€550 excluding VAT per day, my indicative rate in October 2026, or a fixed price when the first part is well defined. Scope, duration and responsibilities shape the proposal, which is confirmed in writing before work starts.
How do you handle confidentiality and AI tools?
I work under your confidentiality agreement if you have one, on your accounts and inside your access rules. The agentic development page sets out what my coding agents may do and how your code and data are handled.