AI-native companies compress 7-8 corporate GTM roles into one, as FDEs absorb sales and services

thedealdirector · x · 2026-09-27

The consolidation of go-to-market functions is visible across AI-native companies: what big corporations spread across 7-8 different "growth" roles often becomes one person, while sales engineers, CSMs, and services teams are being merged into forward-deployed engineers (FDEs).

The quoted context: Ramp is hiring FDEs for its Router product at "AI-pilled" companies, targeting current/former founders who can both build and sell, with traits like obsessive focus and high agency. The growth team is also known for stunts like putting a Ramp ad inside a fortune cookie and staging a one-night Broadway musical about paying bills.

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