Training Trains logo

Forward Deployed Engineering Internship

Work like an engineer embedded with customers: discovery, quick prototypes, integrations, deployments, training and handover for real business problems.

PythonSQLAPIsCloud hostingLLM APIs

What you'll work on

Full syllabus: all 60 graded tasks

These are the actual tasks the internship portal assigns for this domain. You submit each one with proof (a GitHub link or document) and a mentor reviews it.

Level 1: Foundations (24 tasks)
  1. What a forward deployed engineer does. Explain the FDE role: working on site or closely with customers to build, integrate and deploy solutions.
  2. Customer discovery. Interview a small business owner (shop, clinic, coaching centre) about their daily software problems and write notes.
  3. Problem to requirements. Turn the interview into a list of requirements and a simple success measure.
  4. Working with data. Collect a sample of the customer's data (or realistic fake data) and clean it with Python or a spreadsheet.
  5. Quick prototype. Build a quick prototype (web page, sheet automation or small script) that solves one pain point.
  6. Demo and feedback. Demo the prototype to the customer or a classmate playing the customer and record feedback.
  7. APIs and integrations. Connect two tools with their APIs (for example a form to a spreadsheet, or a CRM to email).
  8. SQL for customer data. Write queries that answer 10 questions the customer actually asked.
  9. Python scripting. Automate a repetitive customer task with a Python script and a clear README.
  10. Professional communication. Write a project kick-off email and a weekly status update for the customer.
  11. Version control. Keep all work in a repo named fde-internship with clean commits and a project board.
  12. Security basics. List how you will protect the customer's data: access, passwords, backups and what never leaves their system.
  13. Process mapping on site. Observe a real business process for one hour and map it step by step.
  14. Quick wins list. List five quick wins that could save the customer time this week.
  15. Spreadsheet automation. Automate a repetitive spreadsheet task with formulas or Apps Script.
  16. Data import tool. Build a small tool that imports and validates the customer's Excel files.
  17. Status page. Create a simple status page or report the customer can check.
  18. Requirements recap email. Send a recap email after a customer call confirming decisions.
  19. Issue tracker. Set up an issue tracker for the customer project with labels and priorities.
  20. Demo data. Create realistic demo data that does not include real customer information.
  21. Access checklist. Write a checklist of access you need and when it should be removed.
  22. Glossary of customer terms. Write a glossary of the customer's business terms.
  23. WhatsApp or SMS notification. Send automatic notifications for a customer event using an API (in test mode).
  24. One-page proposal. Write a one-page solution proposal with scope, timeline and cost.
Level 2: Building real features (20 tasks)
  1. Full solution design. Design a complete solution for the customer: architecture, data flow, tools and costs.
  2. Build the MVP. Build the first working version with authentication and a simple admin view.
  3. Deploy for the customer. Deploy the MVP to a cloud host the customer can use and give them access.
  4. Data migration. Move the customer's existing data into the new system with a repeatable, checked script.
  5. Training material. Write a short user guide and record a walkthrough video for the customer's staff.
  6. Handle a change request. Handle a change request: estimate it, agree scope, deliver it and update the docs.
  7. Debugging in the field. Reproduce and fix a bug reported by the customer, and write a short incident note.
  8. Monitoring. Add error alerts and a basic usage dashboard so you know when something breaks.
  9. Integrate an AI service. Add one useful AI feature (summaries, classification or search) with an LLM API and a fallback.
  10. Feedback to the product team. Write a report of what the customer needed that a general product could add.
  11. Integration with accounting software. Connect to an accounting or billing tool's API (Tally, Zoho or similar) in a sandbox.
  12. Role-based access. Add roles so owner, manager and staff see different data.
  13. Reports for the owner. Build the three reports the business owner checks most often.
  14. Offline-friendly design. Make one workflow usable on a weak mobile connection.
  15. Bilingual interface. Add an Indian language to the customer-facing screens.
  16. Automated tests for critical flows. Write tests for the most important customer workflow.
  17. Performance check. Measure page load and response times on the customer's devices and fix the slowest.
  18. Usage analytics. Track which features staff actually use and share the results.
  19. Customer training session. Run a live training session and collect questions.
  20. Support process. Set up how the customer reports issues and how fast you respond.
Level 3: Professional work and capstone (16 tasks)
  1. Scale to a second customer. Adapt your solution for a second similar customer and note what you had to make configurable.
  2. Reliability. Add backups, retries and a recovery runbook, and test a restore.
  3. Performance with real data. Load a realistic volume of data and fix the slowest part of the system.
  4. Cost review. Calculate the monthly running cost and suggest ways to reduce it.
  5. Security review. Review access control, secrets and data handling, and fix what you find.
  6. Case study. Write a customer case study: problem, solution, results and a quote.
  7. Real company client work. Shadow or support a real Training Trains, W3AppDevelopers or DomainHostly client task through the Company Work board.
  8. Capstone: customer deployment. Deliver a complete customer solution from discovery to deployment, with docs, training, monitoring and a final handover meeting.
  9. Configurable product. Turn hard-coded customer logic into settings so the solution works for others.
  10. Multi-customer deployment. Deploy the solution for two customers with separate data.
  11. Migration from legacy system. Plan and execute moving the customer off an old system with a rollback plan.
  12. ROI report. Measure time or money saved and write an ROI report for the customer.
  13. Security and compliance review. Review data protection for the customer under India's DPDP Act basics.
  14. Product feedback session. Present field insights to a product team and agree what to build.
  15. Second customer discovery. Run discovery with a second customer in the same industry and compare needs.
  16. Capstone 2: repeatable solution. Turn your customer work into a repeatable solution with setup guide, configuration, onboarding playbook and a second successful deployment.

Real software work, not just training

Every Forward Deployed Engineering task is reviewed by our team and saved to your portfolio. Interns who pass the readiness check can take real work from Training Trains, W3AppDevelopers and DomainHostly projects on the Company Work board.

Full Stack Web Application DevelopmentAI / Machine Learning Solutions
See the software we build →

Frequently asked questions

Do I need experience to join the Forward Deployed Engineering internship?+

You should already build small apps. Good communication with non-technical people is essential.

What will I do in the Forward Deployed Engineering internship?+

You complete 60 graded tasks in three levels: foundations, real features, and professional work. Each task is submitted with GitHub or document proof and reviewed. The final capstone is: Capstone 2: repeatable solution.

Do I get a certificate for the Forward Deployed Engineering internship?+

Yes. After your required tasks are approved, your attendance is above 75% and you pass the proctored final exam, you get a graded completion certificate that anyone can verify at trainingtrains.com/verify.

Can I do the Forward Deployed Engineering internship online?+

Yes. You can do it fully online from home, or offline at our Erode and Perundurai branches. Tasks, quizzes and mentor reviews are the same in both modes.

Available both online (work from home) and offline at our Erode and Perundurai branches - see the full internship program details for departments, duration, and the application process.

Apply for the Forward Deployed Engineering internship