Welcome back to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• Hottest new job in AI

• Sam and Satya talk $3 trillion AI buildout

• Gen AI fast-tracks into the enterprise

• Uncrewed wingman jet drone takes flight

Let’s get right into it!

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CAREERS

Hottest new job in AI

About a year ago, the hottest AI job was prompt engineer, specialists who fine-tuned chatbot responses through clever wording. Now, the new must-have role is the forward-deployed engineer (FDE). Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere are rapidly hiring these hybrid professionals who can both code and collaborate directly with customers to tailor AI models for real-world use.

Job listings for FDEs have surged over 800% in 2025, according to Indeed, as enterprises from manufacturing to healthcare seek help integrating AI into their operations. The term “forward-deployed” originates from the military and was popularized by Palantir, which sends embedded engineers into client environments to co-create solutions.

OpenAI plans to grow its FDE team to around 50 engineers, helping clients like John Deere use AI to reduce chemical spraying by up to 70%. These embedded engineers are becoming essential to translating cutting-edge AI research into practical, revenue-driving products.

PODCAST

Sam and Satya talk $3 trillion AI buildout

Brad Gerstner interviews Satya Nadella (Microsoft) and Sam Altman (OpenAI) about the $3 trillion AI buildout reshaping global technology and the economy. They explore how the Microsoft–OpenAI partnership enabled massive cloud scaling and transformed both companies’ strategies. Nadella discusses Microsoft’s Azure and Copilot expansion to meet surging AI demand, while Altman reflects on AI’s power, human ambition, and future milestones toward AGI.

Topics include OpenAI’s nonprofit structure, compute constraints, regulation, AI hardware, and the economic ripple effects on productivity and jobs. The conversation highlights a vision of AI as the new industrial revolution, driving both digital and physical reindustrialization in the U.S. by 2026 and beyond.

CAREERS

Gen AI fast-tracks into the enterprise

Generative AI has become mainstream in the enterprise, with widespread workplace adoption and growing familiarity, though depth and maturity still vary across organizations. Leaders are increasingly focused on measuring value, ROI, and accountability, as early returns build conviction and optimism about AI’s long-term potential.

At the same time, human capital remains the key enabler—executive engagement has surged, with 61% of companies now employing Chief AI Officers—but training and capability development still lag behind ambitions, highlighting a gap between enthusiasm and readiness.

Download 90 page PDF report

DEFENSE

Uncrewed wingman jet drone takes flight

Anduril’s prototype for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, the YFQ-44A, made its first flight at a California test site. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink framed the flights as proof that competition accelerates innovation, while Anduril engineering lead Jason Levin said the YFQ-44A was built to team with crewed fighters or operate independently to boost survivability and lethality; the company has already begun integrating weapons and plans a first live shot next year.

Over 2026 Anduril and the Air Force will expand testing to include multi-drone autonomous flights, tactics development with crewed fighters, off-range operations and further trials at Edwards AFB, with operational assessments expected at Nellis and an aircraft readiness unit at Beale to keep the drones deployable. The Air Force has identified the F-22 as the “threshold platform” for CCA integration (with other fighters like the F-35 and F-47 also candidates), and despite shutdown worries, the service says it has shielded the CCA program to avoid delays.