Top forward deployed engineering firms in Europe / Cost and method

Cost and method

Questions to ask a European FDE firm before you sign

This checklist is for the first meeting with any forward deployed engineering firm that will work for a company in Europe. It has ten parts: the firm and its owners, the company that signs, the engineers, hours and travel, where your data is kept and who can see it, testing, platforms and licences, price and invoices, handover, and partner claims. Each question comes with what a clear answer contains and a fact from this guide that shows why it matters. Print it, send it to every firm before the meeting, and compare the written answers side by side.

Published October 21, 2026. Editorial.

Key takeaways

Send every firm the same questions a week before the meeting, and ask for written answers so you can compare them line by line.
Ask which company will sign and invoice, who owns it, and which country its register is in. A brand and its legal company can differ, as Brdge's footer shows.
Ask in which countries your data will be kept or viewed, which people can see it, and whether any AI tool sends your code or data outside your company.
Check partner claims in Anthropic's directory yourself. On 21 October 2026, SFEIR's own offer page and the directory showed different tiers.

Print this page and take it to the first meeting with any forward deployed engineering firm. Send the questions to every firm on your shortlist before the meeting, in the same order, and ask for written answers. That includes Reveneau, Fluxon and every other firm in the list of European FDE firms. Written answers placed side by side are easier to compare than notes from a call.

Each question below comes with what a clear answer contains and a fact from this guide that shows why it matters. The FDE guide also has general questions to ask a forward deployed engineering vendor, and the US guide has a checklist for questions to ask an FDE firm before you sign. This list adds the questions that matter most when the firm, its engineers and your company may sit in different countries.

How to use the checklist

Send the questions a week before the meeting.
In the meeting, ask for evidence where it exists: a register entry, a contract clause, a test report, a name.
Mark each question the firm could not answer, or answered only in general terms.
After the last meeting, compare the firms, then pay the two clearest for the same short task on your own data.

Part 1: The firm and its owners

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
Who owns your firm?	Owners and main investors, by name	Companies House shows Accenture plc with 75 percent or more of Faculty Science Limited, notified 12 March 2026 [1]
Does any owner sell software, AI models or cloud services?	A yes or no, with names	OpenAI agreed in May 2026 to buy Tomoro, an applied AI firm, through its new deployment company [2]
Does any shareholder outside Europe have rights in the firm?	Names, countries and rights, such as board seats	Grid Dynamics states that Beijing Teamsun, a Chinese company, owns 20.0 percent of its shares, a figure it calls approximate [3]
If your firm is sold, can we end the contract?	A clause, with notice in days	Consultancy.eu reported that Devoteam was taken private in 2021, with KKR funding a major part [4]

Part 2: The company that signs

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
Which legal company will sign our contract?	Its full legal name and registration number	Brdge's footer names Iden Ventures Ltd, a company registered in Uxbridge [5]
In which country's register can we find it?	The register and the entry	Netguru S.A. appears in the Polish National Court Register [6]
Why does the register date differ from your founding year?	A short history of the company	The register shows Netguru S.A. entering in 2018, while Netguru says it has 17+ years in the market [6]
Which country's law governs the contract, and where are disputes heard?	A clause	Your lawyers will need this before they approve the contract

Part 3: The engineers

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
Who exactly will work on our project?	Names, roles and years in the role	The people in the sales meeting may be different from the people who do the work
Are they your employees, contractors, or staff of another company in your group?	A count of each	Brdge describes a "20+ strong network"; TechCrunch reported in 2024 that Tribe AI builds with over 500 contractors [7]; accilium says it has a subsidiary of 50+ developers
In which city and country does each one live?	A list	Fluxon says it is 100 percent remote and lists roles in Poland and Portugal [8]
Which languages will they use with our staff?	A list, per person	SFEIR's FDE offer page is in French; accilium advertises a role for an engineer with German
How do you replace someone who leaves?	A notice period and a process	A change of people slows the work

Part 4: Hours, travel and time on site

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
Which hours will the engineers keep, in our time zone?	Hours, written into the contract	A nine-to-six day in Lisbon shares four hours with New York; in Warsaw, three
How many days a week will they be at our site?	A number	Netguru offers part-time advice of two to three days a week [9]
Who pays for flights and hotels, and in which currency?	A line in the quote	Engineers from another country need to travel
Do the engineers have the right to work in our country?	A yes, with the basis	Ask your own staff what your country requires for visitors who work on site

Part 5: Where our data is kept and who can see it

This part asks for practical facts. Your own lawyers and data protection staff should read the answers. Eurostat found that 48.83 percent of EU enterprises that considered AI and did not use it named concerns about violating data protection and privacy as a reason [10].

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
In which countries will our data be stored, copied or viewed?	A list of countries, per system	An engineer who works from another country may view data from there
Which of your people and subcontractors can see our data?	Names or roles, and where each sits	Access should be limited to the people who need it
Will the engineers work inside our own systems and cloud accounts, or copy data to yours?	One or the other, per system	Enjins says it builds "on your stack with your team" [11]
Will any AI tool or model your engineers use send our code or data outside our company?	Each tool, where it sends data, and the provider's terms	Your data rules apply to the firm's tools too
Will our data be used to train any model, for us or for anyone else?	A clear yes or no, in the contract	You decide where your data goes
Who approves each access, and who removes it at the end?	Named roles on both sides	Access should end when the work ends
What happens to copies of our data when the work ends?	A deletion step, with a date and a written confirmation	Copies left behind are a risk

The FDE guide's page on security and access for embedded engineers explains how to set up access in practice.

Part 6: How the work is tested

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
What has to pass before a change reaches our users?	A named test process, and who runs it	Code can be written fast, and tests show whether it does what you asked
Who writes the tests, and from what?	The source, such as your specification	Tests written from your requirements check what you asked for
Can we see and keep the test results?	Yes, in a stated format	Twistag says every engagement ends with documentation, evaluations and runbooks [12]
Has a system like this been built for another client?	A yes or no, with a reference you can call	Devoteam's rules say it takes only use cases already proven at another industrial client [13]

One firm's answer to the first question, as an example of the detail to ask for: Reveneau says every change has to pass a large eval suite before release. The suite is a set of automated tests written from the specification, and Reveneau says Jev grades it and makes it run ten times faster than its previous grader did. Reveneau also says AI writes 100 percent of its code, that it uses AI in place of hiring more engineers and puts that saving into clients' prices, and that it takes responsibility for the whole project through production and after release. Its offices are at 435 Utah Street, San Francisco, and Floor 33, 909 Mainland Street, Vancouver, and it lists no office in Europe. It offers forward deployed engineers. Ask every firm for an answer with the same level of detail.

Part 7: Platforms, models and licences

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
Will any part of our system run on your own software?	Each product, with its licence	10Clouds names its own platform, AIConsole; Grid Dynamics says its engineers deliver its own platforms [3]
What will that software cost each year, and after you leave?	A price per year	A licence continues after the engineers go
Will you run the system for us after it is built?	A yes or no, with the terms	Polynom describes its offer as an operated service [14]
Which AI models would you use, and would you test another maker's model?	Model names, and a yes or no	A firm tied to one maker may prefer its models
Who owns the code, prompts (the written instructions given to AI models), tests and settings you write for us?	Our company, in a clause	You need them to change or move the system

Part 8: Price and invoices

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
How do you charge: by the hour, a monthly fee, a fixed price, or tied to results?	One method, in writing	Netguru bills on time and materials; Polynom ties its service to realised value
What does every figure on your website include?	A plain description	SFEIR's homepage shows two less-than signs before 40k€ on a proof project card, without saying what it covers [15]
Which company will invoice, from which country, and in which currency?	A name, a country and a currency	Prices in pounds, kronor and euros cannot be compared without a dated exchange rate
What will the whole job cost, including travel and licences?	A total, with each line shown	No firm in this guide publishes a rate card

Part 9: Handover

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
On what date does the work move to our own staff?	A date in the contract	Devoteam says the forward deployed role is "temporary by design" [13]
What do we keep when your engineers leave?	A list: code, tests, documents, access, models	Devoteam says the AI agents and the other code built during its work stay with the client [13]
Will you train our staff to run the system?	A plan with hours and names	Devoteam's FDE page offers a training programme that starts with five days in Paris
What will our staff be able to do alone on the day after you leave?	A short, specific list	That is the test of a good handover

The FDE guide's page on handover and exit explains what a handover should contain.

Part 10: Partner claims

Question	What a clear answer contains	Why ask
Which partner tiers do you hold, and with whom?	The tier and the partner	On 21 October 2026, SFEIR's own offer page said Select while Anthropic's directory showed Preferred [16]
Can we see your entry in the partner's own directory?	A link	Anthropic's directory listed seven of the seventeen firms in this guide on that date [16]
Who wrote the office regions in your directory entry?	The firm itself	Each partner fills in its own regions; Tribe AI's list only the United States, while its site names Lisbon
Can we call one client whose name you give us?	A name and a contact	No outside source confirmed the clients named by most firms in this guide

After the meetings

Put every written answer into one table, one row per question and one column per firm. Cross out any firm that would not name the company that signs, the countries where your data would be kept, or the engineers on your project. Then pay the two clearest firms for the same short task on your own data, and judge them on the work. The full list of European FDE firms gives every entry, and what forward deployed engineering costs in Europe explains the price questions. To start with the first firm on the list, contact Reveneau.

Common questions

Which parts of this checklist matter most when the firm is in another country?

Part 2, on the company that signs, because the contract may fall under another country's law. Part 4, on hours and travel, because a team in Warsaw shares three working hours with New York. And Part 5, on where your data is kept and who can see it, because engineers may view your data from their own country.

How do I ask an FDE firm where our data will be kept?

Ask for a list of the countries where your data will be stored, copied or viewed, system by system. Ask whether the engineers will work inside your own systems and cloud accounts or copy data to the firm's. Ask what happens to every copy when the work ends. Have your own lawyers and data protection staff read the written answer.

Who should be able to see our data during a forward deployed engagement?

Only the people who need it for the work. Ask the firm to name the people and subcontractors who will have access, say where each one sits, and name who on your side approves and removes each access. Write into the contract that access ends on the last day of the work and that the firm confirms it in writing.

Should I ask whether a firm's AI tools send our code outside the company?

Yes. Engineers often use AI tools to write and check code, and some tools send what they read to an outside provider. Ask the firm to list every AI tool and model its engineers will use on your project, where each one sends data, and under which terms. Your own data rules apply to those tools as well.

Why ask a European FDE firm which company will sign the contract?

Because the brand and the legal company can differ. Brdge's site footer names Iden Ventures Ltd, and a firm with offices in several countries may sign through a company in any of them. Ask for the full legal name and registration number, then find the company in its country's register and compare the address.

What should I do if a firm's own page and Anthropic's directory show different tiers?

Trust the directory and ask the firm to explain. On 21 October 2026, SFEIR's offer page called it a Select partner, while Anthropic's directory and a news item on SFEIR's own homepage showed Preferred. Anthropic sets the tier, so the directory is the source to use. Ask the firm to correct its own page.

What should I ask about engineers who will work from another country?

Ask for each engineer's city and country, the hours they will keep in your time zone, how many days they will spend at your site, who pays for travel, and which languages they will use with your staff. A team in Lisbon shares four working hours with New York, and a team in Warsaw three, so write the shared hours into the contract.

In which currency should an FDE quote and invoice be written?

Agree on one currency before you sign, and ask which company will invoice and from which country. Firms in this guide sit in countries that use euros, British pounds, Polish złoty and Swedish kronor. Comparing quotes in different currencies needs an exchange rate on a stated date, so ask every firm to quote in the same currency.

What does Devoteam say stays with the client after its engineers leave?

Devoteam's forward deployed page says the role is temporary by design. It says the client's team runs the system, the people the engineers trained keep it going, and the AI agents and the other code built during the work stay with the client. Ask any firm for the same list in writing, with the date the handover happens.

Does Devoteam train a client's own staff as forward deployed engineers?

Devoteam's forward deployed page says yes. It describes the FDE Foundation certification, a programme by Devoteam Academy and OSS Ventures that trains engineers, consultants and operations managers in three weeks, starting with five days of practical work in Paris. OSS Ventures is Devoteam's partner on the programme. Ask for the plan, the hours and the cost in writing.

Which written answers should remove a firm from the shortlist?

Cross out any firm that would not name the company that signs, the countries where your data would be kept or viewed, or the engineers who would work on your project. Those three answers are facts the firm already knows. Then pay the two clearest remaining firms for the same short task on your own data.

References

More in Cost and method

What forward deployed engineering costs in Europe

No firm in this guide publishes a rate card, a day rate or a price list for forward deployed engineers. A few describe how they charge: Netguru bills by the hour, Polynom ties its operated service to realised value, and SFEIR shows one figure on its homepage without explaining it. The closest public numbers are official pay figures. The UK's Office for National Statistics gives a median of £56,914 a year for full-time software developers in 2025, and Statistics Sweden a median of SEK 53,500 a month. This page explains those figures, why a firm's rate is higher, and what a quote should list.

How the European FDE firms in this guide were chosen

Every firm on the list passed three tests. It says, in its own words or job ads, that it places engineers inside a client's team. It names an office in Europe on its own pages or in a company register, with two stated exceptions. And it sells that work to clients, for the clients' own systems. This page lists the sources, explains how each kind was treated, names the firms that were checked and left out with the reason for each, and lists the facts that could not be confirmed on 21 October 2026.

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