FDE · Forward Deployed Engineers
FDE Services: From Satellite Data to
Measurable Business Outcomes
Most organizations don't need more satellite data.
They need a clear path from data to decisions, operational improvement, and measurable ROI.
Through the Pioneer Partner Program, STARPATH GLOBAL’s Forward Deployed Engineers work directly with your team to identify high-value opportunities, develop practical remote sensing applications, and demonstrate measurable business impact and ROI before you make any commercial commitment.
The FDE team's job is not to deliver software — or data.
It is to help you find the problems most worth solving, and prove whether satellite remote sensing can create quantifiable business outcomes.
Why Most Satellite Projects Fail
Many organizations invest in satellite data yet struggle to generate meaningful business value. Common challenges include:
The problem is rarely data availability. The problem is turning information into decisions.
The STARPATH GLOBAL FDE Approach
Traditional Satellite Vendors
- Sell imagery
- Deliver datasets
- Provide software
- Leave execution to the customer
STARPATH GLOBAL FDE Services
- Define business objectives
- Discover high-impact opportunities
- Design operational workflows
- Build the value case
- Validate ROI
- Support implementation
Our goal is not to deliver data. Our goal is to deliver outcomes.
What Is the FDE Service?
Under the FDE service model, STARPATH GLOBAL engineers become an extension of your team, with expertise across:
FDE engineers work directly with your business owners to understand operational challenges and design practical solutions aligned with your business goals.
We don't ask:
"What satellite do you need?"
We ask first:
"What decision do you want to make?"
A Fully Managed Remote Sensing Experience
You define the objective. We handle everything else.
STARPATH GLOBAL manages:
The FDE Engagement Path
How an FDE Engagement Unfolds
Four stages, from discovery to operation — deliberate, evidence-based, and low-risk
FDE only takes on the highest-value problems in your business — that's the only way you'll commit the resources, data, and risk tolerance needed to succeed. We work without exposing your systems, earn trust through iteration, and leave you with a system you can run yourself, not a report.
Discovery
Focus on what matters most
FDE engineers work remotely or on site with your domain experts to pinpoint the highest-value problem and define what "good" looks like before we build anything.
Reference price: $3,000 – $7,000 USD (varies with scope)Deployment
Trust earned through real results
We run a focused Pilot and iterate with frontline users on real output until they trust it enough to use in their actual work.
Reference price: $10,000 – $30,000 USD (varies with scope)Expansion
Deterministic guardrails at scale
We replicate the validated pattern across more use cases and departments, wrapping the system's judgment in deterministic business rules, with FDE engineers returning periodically on site.
Reference price: from $100,000 USD, scoped to your requirementsOperation
You leave with a product, not a report
We hand over a system your own team can run and maintain — no specialist team needed — that becomes the operating system for your company.
Subscription fee + service fee, scoped to your needsEval-Driven Development
AI output is probabilistic — unlike traditional software, correct today doesn't mean correct tomorrow.
We practice Eval-Driven Development: before we build, we work with domain experts to define an eval set as the baseline; every change has to pass it. At handover, that eval framework goes to your team too, so they can keep maintaining and iterating the system.
The Trust Gap
Technology being ready doesn't mean the business is ready to use it — a trust gap sits between the two.
Much of an FDE's job is closing that gap by iterating alongside frontline users, not walking away once the code ships.
Migration (Optional)
If you choose to migrate to another provider, we offer full migration support to keep your systems available throughout the transition.
Each stage builds only on value already proven in the one before it. Our goal isn't to leave you with a report — it's to leave you with a system you can run yourself.
Pioneer Partner Program
Free value assessment and on-site engineering support for qualifying organizations
To accelerate remote-sensing-driven decision making across industries, STARPATH GLOBAL is recruiting its first cohort of pioneer partners.
For selected organizations, we begin with a remote assessment to identify use cases with real commercial value. For high-potential projects, STARPATH GLOBAL deploys FDE engineers on site to co-design, validate, and refine the solution together with your team.
Selected organizations receive:
Opportunity Discovery Workshop
Work with your business owners to map operational challenges and identify where satellite remote sensing can create value.
Dedicated Engineering Team
A STARPATH GLOBAL FDE team follows the project end to end, working as an extension of your own team.
High-Value Opportunity Identification
Assess which business problems are best solved with satellite remote sensing, prioritizing scenarios with clear commercial value and quantifiable returns.
Solution Co-Creation & Architecture Design
Design a complete remote sensing decision solution around your business goals — data sources, analytics pipelines, alerting mechanisms, and decision support.
Free On-Site Deployment Support
For projects that pass initial assessment, STARPATH GLOBAL deploys FDE engineers on site for in-depth research, validation, and pilot implementation — at our expense.
ROI Validation & Value Assessment
Measure the project's real contribution to cost reduction, efficiency, risk control, resource optimization, and business growth.
Executive Recommendation Report
A leadership-level report covering implementation path, expected returns, scaling options, and ROI analysis.
Limited Availability
Open to qualifying organizations only.
STARPATH GLOBAL bears the full cost of opportunity identification, solution design, on-site engineering, and ROI validation.
No formal procurement process is required until business value has been proven.
Our goal is not to help you buy satellite data.
Our goal is to help you discover and validate the business value satellite remote sensing can create.
Formal engagement begins only after the expected value has been validated.
Data Control & Client Trust
STARPATH GLOBAL does not monetize client data.
The Pioneer Partner Program is not about acquiring industry data. It is about helping clients discover and validate the business value satellite remote sensing can create.
You always retain control of your business data and information. We access only what the project requires, within the scope you authorize, under the principles of explicit purpose, minimum necessity, and strict access management.
We never sell, share, or reuse client data for other projects.
Our goal is not to own more data — it is to help you use data better, turning it into measurable business outcomes.
Who Makes an Ideal Pioneer Partner?
Organizations facing challenges such as:
Energy
Pipeline monitoring, oil & gas facility inspection, infrastructure risk management
Mining
Asset monitoring, exploration support, environmental compliance
Forestry
Forest monitoring, illegal logging detection, wildfire risk assessment
Agriculture
Crop intelligence, yield forecasting, irrigation optimization
Government
Land administration, environmental monitoring, disaster response
Infrastructure
Construction progress monitoring, asset management, project oversight
Start From Outcomes, Not Technology
Most satellite projects start with technology.
We believe they should start with business outcomes.
Instead of asking:
"What data should we buy?"
Ask:
"What outcome do we want to achieve?"
STARPATH GLOBAL FDE services bridge the gap between space technology and operational value, helping organizations turn satellite data into measurable business outcomes.
Ready to discover your first high-value remote sensing opportunity?
Validate value before you buy any data, software, or satellite services.
Apply to Become a STARPATH GLOBAL Pioneer Partner
Free opportunity discovery · Free on-site engineering support · Formal engagement only after ROI validation