upgrad-logo
IIT/IIM Courses
image
left BorderTop 100 (NIRF '25)right border
left BorderGraded A+ (NAAC) right border

Executive Post Graduate Programme in Forward Deployed AI Engineering

    The programs that makes you the engineer who owns the end-to-end implementation of AI solutions from understanding the business problem to deploying and scaling the solution in production.

    Join IIIT Bangalore alumni network of AI Experts at Amazon, HSBC, ICICI, Kotak, Microsoft, Jio, Swiggy, and more.

image
Join 10k+ alumni

4.5/5 (7812 ratings)

Build AI. Deploy Enterprise Systems. Own the Outcome.

Slide 1 of 1

Agentic AI depth - Orchestration, MCP, and human-in-the-loop control

Production-first - Every course closes with a graded sprint or a live build

A real client capstone discovery through a Demo Day defended live

1-day campus immersion at IIIT Bangalore, including Demo Day

Sessions delivered by FDEs & AI Experts, not just faculty

IIIT Bangalore Alumni Status

Executive PG Programme in Forward Deployed AI Engineering: Own What’s Next

120+

Hours of Learning

5

Hands-on Projects

1

Capstone & Immersion

Build AI for Production - Master GenAI, LLMs, RAG, Agentic AI & multi-agent systems

Engineer for Enterprise - Design, integrate and deploy AI across cloud, on-premise and container environments

Own the Client Journey - From problem discovery and solution architecture to deployment and business impact

Build Your Portfolio - Apply your skills through 5 projects and a live client capstone culminating in Demo Day

Think Like an FDE - Client discovery, architecture & solution scoping

Trusted IIITB Advantage - Experience Campus Immersion & Earn an IIITB alumni status

imagesrc

Forward Deployed Engineering: The Next Frontier of AI Engineering is Deployment.

As enterprises move AI from pilots to production, a new class of engineers now owns the journey.

    The FDE wave is already here. Get ahead of it.

{Forward Deployed Engineering:} The Next Frontier of AI Engineering is Deployment.

Curriculum built the FDE way: Built around the real demands of the FDE role.

01

Client Discovery & Problem Framing

Client Discovery · Problem Decomposition · Stakeholder Mapping · Solution Scoping

02

Generative AI & LLM Engineering

Generative AI · LLMs · RAG · Prompt Engineering · Multimodal AI

03

Agentic AI & Application Engineering

Agentic AI · Multi-Agent Systems · MCP · Tool Calling · Human-in-the-Loop

04

AI Architecture & Deployment

Cloud · On-Prem · APIs · Containers · Security · Enterprise Integration

05

Production AI & Optimization

Evaluation · Observability · Reliability · Cost · Latency · Governance

06

Client Delivery & AI Leadership

Solution Design · SOW · Technical Storytelling · Executive Demos · Adoption

FDE Curriculum: Master AI Deployment

Production Engineering Foundations

Module 1

W 1-3

Topics covered

The FDE mandate, the client-first mindset, and the 90-second explain

Production Python - async patterns, FastAPI, Pyd

Testing, continuous integration, Docker, and observability instrumentation

Production Python

FASTAPI + PYDANTIC

DOCKER

CI/CD

OBSERVABILITY

Applied Generative AI: Retrival, Agents, and Evaluation

Module 2

W 4-9

Topics covered

The production LLM stack - context windows, model routing across Claude/ Gemini/open-weight, cost & latency tradeoffs

Retrieval-augmented generation - the prompt vs. retrieve vs. fine-tune decision, embeddings, chunking, reranking

Agentic systems and orchestration - graphbased execution, human-in-the-loop checkpoints

Tool calling and the Model Context Protocol - building and securing MCP servers

Evaluation, cost, and safety - fixed budget/ latency envelopes · Sprint 1

Skills acquired

LLMS

RAG

AGENTIC AI

MCP

EVALUATION

COST

Client Discovery and Solution Architecture

Module 3

W 10-13

Topics covered

Structured client discovery - a repeatable question framework, real-time synthesis

Stakeholder mapping - decision-makers, influencers, blockers, and Indian enterprise hierarchy

From problem to solution architecture - constraint-first design, the v0 principle

Scoping, Statements of Work, and value hypotheses · Sprint 2

Skills acquired

DISCOVERY

STAKEHOLDER MAPPING

CONSTRAINT-FIRST ARCHITECTURE

STATEMENT OF WORK

Enterprise Deployment, Security, and Regulagted-Industry Compliance

Module 4

W 14-19

Topics covered

Deploying into constrained environments - cloud, on-premise, IAM, staged rollback

Production operations - drift detection, nested tracing, incident response with clients in the loop

AI security - prompt injection, poisoned retrieval, tool misuse, red-teaming before golive

The India regulatory layer - DPDP Act, RBI/ IRDAI/TRAI overlays, data sovereignty

AI SECURITY

OBSERVABILITY

GOVERNANCE

DPDP ACT

RELIABILITY

Solution Demonstration, Adoption, and Client Delivery

Module 5

W 20-23

Topics covered

Demo engineering - what to skip, what to mock, what to polish; narrating deliberate imperfection

Executive communication - the 90-second explain, non-determinism to a non-technical audience

Objection handling - adversarial questions on cost, risk, and IT approval, without losing trust

Ownership and handover - runbooks, product feedback loop, full FDE interview simulation

Skills acquired

DEMO ENGINEERING

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION

OBJECTION HANDLING

HANDOVER

Capstone: A Real Client Brief, Run end to end

W 24-25

Topics covered

Discover - Understand the real problem

Architect - Design around enterprise constraints

Build - Develop the AI solution

Integrate - Connect enterprise data and applications

Deploy - Ship into a realistic environment

Evaluate - Measure accuracy, latency, cost, and reliability

Defend - Explain architecture, economics, security, and business impact

Demo - Present to an expert panel

Skills acquired

Architect

Build

Integrate

Optimize

Lead

Certification: IIIT Bangalore

A Credential Built for the Next AI Engineering Era

IIIT Bangalore Credential

A postgraduate credential from a technology-first institution with a decade-plus legacy in AI & ML executive education.

Forward Deployed Engineering Expertise

Master the FDE stack from GenAI & Agentic AI to enterprise deployment and client discovery.

Real-World Enterprise Experience

Apply your skills to a live client engagement, culminating in a solution defence at IIIT Bangalore.

image

The Capstone: Fully deployed. Defended live.

Every programme ends with a submission. This one ends with a live panel of practitioners where you defend a complete forward-deployed engagement, built for a real client, module by module.

5

Portfolio Deliverables

1

Client Engagement

1

Expert Defence

Discovery brief - From a live session with a client stakeholder, graded on the questions asked

Solution brief & statement of work - Scoped realistically against the client's actual constraints

Working prototype - Documented repository, architecture diagram, and a demonstration video

DPDP compliance audit & cost model - Auditor-facing evidence, mapped to the deployment, costed in rupees

Demo Day presentation (As Code) - Present the complete solution to an expert panel, defend your technical and business decisions

imagesrc

IIIT Bangalore Campus Immersion: From Learning to Live Defence

1

Campus Immersion

MASTERCLASS - Transformer architecture and system design under real latency, cost, and regulatory constraints

NETWORKING - Meet the engineers you've built alongside for six months, plus IIIT-B faculty and alumni.

SIMULATION - A pressure-tested rehearsal: adversarial questions, live objections, no script.

PANEL - Industry practitioners and IIIT-B faculty interrogate your architecture, economics, and business impact.

image

Executive Post Graduate Programme in Forward Deployed AI Engineering: Faculty & Industry Expert

2

Instructors

Slide 1 of 2
image

Dr. C. Ramanathan

Professor

image

With a Ph.D. from MSU and 25+ years of Data & Software Engineering experience, Prof. C.R. is ranked amongst the top data academicians in India.

LinkedIn ProfileLinkedin
image

Vivek Yadav

Technology Officer & Adjunct faculty

image

Vivek Yadav is currently the Technology Officer at IIIT Bangalore. Vivek Yadav is also Adjunct Faculty at IIIT Bangalore since August 2017.

University Profile

Built for Engineers ready for What's Next

For Engineers ready to move from building systems to owning outcomes.

Slide 1 of 3
9a4a07d8-5bdc-406b-ab56-335ebdee206e_11zon (1)-7d528d3a5bb1414a819c649320d652b4.jpg

Software Engineer

Ships features for an internal roadmap. An FDE ships outcomes, daily, at the client site.

Founders etc (2) (1) (1)-009732549ca8478eacf70855845291ba.webp

AI / ML Engineer

Trains models for internal teams. An FDE puts them in production in front of a CFO.

Senior Managers (1) (1) (1)-00c621654f8d42ce82757c7e62e1c78b.webp

Solutions Architect

Designs the system, then hands off. An FDE owns deployment end to end.

We'll Be There Right Through Your Journey!

Hands-on learning

    Videos from top faculty and world-class industry experts

    Built-in practice and coding console

    Industry-oriented projects for real DS & ML exposure

    Live interventions from faculty and industry experts

    Real time doubt clearing sessions

Course Fees

6 Months
Starting at
INR 4,894/month
Totally INR 1,45,000*Inclusive of taxes

Reserve your seat

Pay INR 10,000 and block your seat
View Plans
fee image

EPGP in Forward Deployed AI Engineering

The admissions process for this EPGP in Forward Deployed AI Engineering is very easy, and can be done completely online

Eligibility

Bachelor's or master's Degree or its equivalent in any discipline from UGC recognized University with minimum 50% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA  

Slide 1 of 3
image-Complete Application

Complete Application

Fill out an application form giving your basic profile details.

arrow-image
image-Get Shortlisted

Offer Letter & Reserve Seat

Receive an offer letter and pay ₹10,000 to reserve a seat.

arrow-image
image-Complete Payment

Payment

Remaining balance to be paid within 7 days or batch start date whichever comes sooner.

upGrad Learner Support

Talk to our experts. We are available 7 days a week, 10 AM to 7 PM

text

Indian Nationals

text

Foreign Nationals